


Time and Again

by TheMOUSE1976_Ottawa



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 02:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18002387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMOUSE1976_Ottawa/pseuds/TheMOUSE1976_Ottawa
Summary: Three kwami are gone, stolen, and the one who has them doesn't realize that to use them how he wants will destroy the world.  Now without their powers, can our heroes succeed in freeing Tikki, Plagg, and Nooroo before it's too late?





	1. Chapter 1

Two months.

It had been two months since Marinette Dupain-Cheng had last seen the little God of Creation, Tikki.

One morning they were waking up in her room high above the Tom and Sabine Bakery, both chattering away happily about the day to come and how much promise it held.

The next morning the little red kwami was gone.

After the first few days Marinette had sought out Master Fu, the Great Guardian of the Miraculous, the man who had gifted her with the earrings that had housed the magical being she had come to see as her best friend.

Neither he, nor his own kwami, Wayzz, could find anything wrong with the earrings.

They weren’t cracked of damaged in any way.

She hadn’t taken them off since receiving them over a year ago.

She had not renounced her kwami.

Wayzz had even confirmed all the magic was still there, that Tikki was still tethered to the magical items.

What neither of them could explain was where she was.

Tikki had never been very far from her by choice.

Marinette bit the tip of her thumb with a small sigh.

_Oh, Tikki, where are you?_

Fingers snapped in front of her eyes and the girl blinked, looking to her friend sitting across from her. She had lost track of the fact she was supposed to be studying with her friend in the library instead of being lost in her thoughts.

“You okay, girl?” Alya questioned in concern. “You spaced out there for a second.”

“I’m fine, Alya,” she forced a smile.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing for you to worry about. Anything new on the Ladyblog?” she ventured to change the subject.

The other girl sighed heavily. “No, just lots of speculation from no one in the know. No sign of Ladybug or Chat Noir in two months. Luckily no sign of Hawk Moth either. But no one seems to have a valid idea of where any of them are. I mean, if the fight was over, if they had finally defeated Hawk Moth, you’d think they would have at least told us something. Posting something online, made a press announcement… something!”

“Nothing from Chat Noir… or Ladybug?”

This made the ebon-haired girl worry. She knew the reason behind Ladybug’s disappearance. That was easy enough.

She _was_ Ladybug.

At least she was with Tikki around.

Without her, she was just Marinette.

But Chat Noir was gone too.

She had watched for him patrolling the city at night, standing on her balcony in hope. If he had been around she might have asked for his help to find Tikki. The desperation of the situation might have allowed her to reveal herself as Ladybug to him and hope he wouldn’t be too mad or disappointed to help her.

Night after night there was no sign of her partner.

Had something happened to him?

Had his kwami disappeared too?

“It’s like they all just upped and vanished,” Alya continued. “No message, nothing.”

“At least Hawk Moth vanished too.”

“I think that’s the only good news in all this.” She looked towards the front door to the library. “Hey, Nino and Adrien just walked in. Want me to call them over?”

Marinette shrugged absently, too worried about Tikki to even think about reacting to the mention of Adrien.

Alya blinked at her in worry. Whatever had her friend worried had sapped all attention away from the Agreste teen. Whereas once Marinette would have stumbled over herself for even a chance to be near the young model, now it was almost as if she couldn’t care less.

Alya worried at her lip, but waved her arm to capture the boys’ attentions. Nino Lahiffe noticed her first, subtly steering his friend towards the table. The auburn-haired girl frowned at the sight of Adrien Agreste. He looked worried, his usual glow no longer present. In the year she had known this model he had never once been anything less than his nickname: the sunshine child. But now he seemed harried as if he was expecting the worst sort of news.

“Whoa, Blondie, who’s dying?” she questioned.

Green eyes barely blinked at her. “It’s nothing, Alya. Just tired.”

But before she could press a loud high-pitched whine erupted from every device with a screen, students yelping in shock as they tried to cover their ears from the sudden pain. Every possible screen came to life in a burst of static, even the library’s main screen. Students began to gather around the screens as the static faded.

It was a large room, dramatically dark save for the centre lit from above. It was as if it was specifically lit to hide any discerning features of the room. A figure began to walk out of the far shadows towards the light. This man wore a long lab coat, his scraggily hair jutting out in all directions and unkempt. Dark eyes stared straight at the camera from behind thin glasses, his gaze intent and intense.

“You do not know me,” he began, his voice chilling and low. “But that doesn’t matter. In a few weeks, the world will know the name of Matthis Ulcel. I have commandeered the airwaves to share my incredible discovery. I have spent the last few years researching our city’s vaunted heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir. Yes, these two are not the first incarnations, there have been others in the past. It took considerable resources and every waking second to learn everything about them, about the secret of their power.”

Marinette felt a cold settle in the pit of her stomach.

Did this man know the true identity of Ladybug and Chat Noir?

Was he going to announce it?

“My so-called colleagues thought me mad when I postulated the existence of magic, how it could tie directly to today’s science and physics. But I can now prove them wrong.”

The camera turned to reveal three cylinders sitting atop strange machines. Within each cylinder floated a tiny being.

“Tikki,” Marinette breathed at the sight of the red being, unable to stop herself.

She thought she head Adrien hiss.

Tikki’s cylinder was flanked on either side by one containing a small black cat, no doubt Chat Noir’s kwami, and the other containing a little winged kwami of lavender color. It looked like a butterfly.

Was this Hawk Moth’s kwami?

“These creatures impart amazing powers and abilities to those they bond with,” Ulcel continued. “I acquired them from Ladybug and Chat Noir, as well as from Hawk Moth.”

“More like stole, you bastard!” Nino growled. “Chat and the Bug would never give up their powers willingly.”

Marinette frowned.

How _had_ he gotten them?

“These creatures, these kwami, are the source of their powers. I intend to prove that what people call Fate was wrong when Ladybug, Chat Noir and Hawk Moth were selected to wield these powers. I have selected three individuals whom I have carefully trained. I intend to bond these three with these kwami, fuse science and magic, to create heroes the likes of which are only seen in comic books.”

“You can’t bond them without the Miraculous,” Marinette heard Adrien breathe. “That’s the bridge.”

_How does he know that?_

“In three weeks time, I will present Paris and the world with their new heroes,” Ulcel announced. “They will be better in every way. The losses of the past will not be repeated and mistakes will be fixed.”

And the screens all went dark.

The Dupain-Cheng girl was trembling, gripping her phone in a vice grip.

This man, this scientist, had her Tikki.

“He’ll kill them,” she whispered, a sob creeping into her voice. “If… if he tries this… he’ll kill them.”

“Who is he?” Adrien demanded, an uncharacteristic snarl in his voice.

“Way ahead of you, Blondie,” Alya replied, her thumb flicking across her phone screen. “Got it. Doctor Matthis Ulcel, theoretical sciences with a focus on entanglement theory and intrinsic fields. He’s been drummed out of the scientific community for writing a paper on how magic and science were really one and the same, saying the intrinsic energies we recognize today are what gave Merlin his amazing powers.”

Nino blinked. “Uh, wasn’t Merlin a fictional character?”

“Part of the reason he got kicked out, I would think. He also wrote about how he thinks these same intrinsic energies are transferrable from one being to the next, from object to being. Sounds like something straight out of Star Trek. He’s got a lab here in Paris—”

“Where?” Adrien commanded.

She blinked at him before looking back to her screen. “Uh… He has a permanent lab at Institut Pasteur, rue du Dr. Roux. Doesn’t seem like he got kicked out of there yet.”

“Dude, there’s nothing we can do to help Ladybug and Chat Noir get them back,” Nino reasoned as if reading his friend’s mind. “None of us can just waltz up to his lab and demand he free those… uh… kwami. And I doubt the police will try anything that will result in an us versus them situation between all those science guys and the city authorities.”

“What I want to know is how the bastard got them in the first place,” Alya voiced, hoping to change the subject. “I mean, finding them, he probably did like some huge mondo research or something – something I want to get my hands on if he knows who our heroes really are – but to get them off Ladybug and Chat Noir? Like their Miraculous, they probably guarded them with their lives.”

 _You have no idea_ , Marinette mused sadly.

“The creep has to know who their civilian selves are, but that wasn’t important to him,” Nino speculated aloud. “So, he would have to find a way to knock them out to keep them from transforming before he could get the kwami… kwamis… What’s the plural of kwami?”

Alya frowned. “Off track. So… he drugged them. And when they passed out he just upped and took the kwami.”

Marinette thought back to the last time she saw Tikki. They had been in her room, having just returned from a patrol. She remembered feeling very sleepy that night after getting back, to the point where she had just dropped on her bed without even changings out of her day’s clothes. The sleep had been fitful. There was the sensation of someone being in her room with her, someone other than her parents.

And then her Mother was shaking her awake with a comment to air out her room, that it smelled stuffy.

Her thumb skimmed over her phone to a map of the city.

She wasn’t Ladybug.

Right now, she was just a girl, barely into her teens.

Her chances were slim at best.

But she had to try… for Tikki.

* * *

Hidden in the shadows of an alleyway, Adrien Agreste stared at the massive new doors of the research lab. He knew the doors were new, as were the numerous cameras lining the tall concrete walls. He had seen enough upgrades done to his own home to know new masonry and technology on sight.

But somewhere beyond those walls was his kwami.

Plagg.

They didn’t always get along and the little being often made his life difficult, but he would be damned if he let some so-called scientist steal him away to experiment on.

He had been surprised his Father had let him leave the house so late. The man had looked frazzled, something completely out of character for the fashion mogul. The few times Adrien had seen him in the last two months he seemed more harried than usual. Almost lost. Sure, his work had continued to consume him and there were no indications that the company was floundering, but there was something very off about his Father.

Distracted, even.

Even Nathalie seemed too preoccupied about whatever was bothering his Father to crack down on the rules as strictly as she used to. To test her, Adrien had made a comment about dying his hair purple. She hadn’t even blinked or spluttered or anything. Only kept her eyes fixed on her tablet with some vague and non-committal comment about it.

Adrien tested his new limits, or lack thereof.

He stayed out later.

He missed a few fencing practices or Chinese lessons.

He almost completely gave up on his piano lessons.

He let his grades slide ever so slightly.

Nothing seemed to get a rise out of anyone.

So Adrien took full advantage of this distracted state and staked out the research lab after school for the last few days, late into the night.

It was going to prove difficult to get into this building though. The amount of security he saw was a real deterrent. The only other place he had seem this much protection was around Agreste Manor.

Cameras all along the perimeter wall, new ones by the looks of them.

The perimeter wall itself was a good nine feet in height. Adrien could jump higher than most, but he knew even this was too high for him.

And then there were the new, reinforced doors.

If only he had been able to contact Ladybug. No doubt she would have been able to come up with some plan to get passed all the security and get inside. She had a plan for just about everything. That was one of the many things he adored about her: her ability to analyze a situation and find a way around the problem.

Two months.

It had been two months since he had last seen his partner.

He had kept an eye out for her nightly, hoping to see her swing past, hoping to catch her attention long enough to get her to talk to him.

After seeing that strange newscast from Ulcel he understood why she had been gone all this time. Her kwami was there, in a cylinder next to Plagg’s and possibly Hawk Moth’s. It was hard not to recognize the distinctive red colouring and the prominent black dot on its forehead.

Had Ladybug seen the announcement?

She must have, Ulcel had made it a point to make sure it was a citywide distribution.

Would she try anything as her civilian self?

Despite being worried for Plagg, Adrien couldn’t help but feel the small thrill at possibly meeting his partner without the mask. It was something he had so wanted, a wish dear to his heart, but this situation was not the best way to learn her identity, or for her to learn his.

But he couldn’t help but hope and wonder…

He heard footsteps approach and he sunk into the shadows.

It was a girl.

He watched her approach the intercom on the wall almost tentatively.

He couldn’t hear her, but he could hear whoever was on the other end acknowledge her presence.

If she got the door to open he would use the chance to dash in.

Adrien crouched, coiling his muscles in readiness.

The other voice was even and cold, denying this girl access.

She begged, her voice rising.

The voice shut her down.

The girl turned to the door and began to pound on it almost desperately.

“You give her back, you monster!” the girl shouted, tears in her voice. “You hear me? You let her go!”

The door stayed closed and the intercom remained quiet.

She sunk to her knees, still pounding a fist to the door, her shouts dissolving into heaving sobs.

Adrien felt pity for this girl.

What had she lost to Ulcel?

Carefully, quietly, he left the shadow and approached the girl, intent to offer whatever comfort he could give. His hand gently gripped her shoulder as he knelt at her side, startling her enough to cause her to whip around to face him.

He blinked at the wide and familiar blue eyes staring back at him.

“Marinette?”

Tear filled orbs flickered before she took an angry swipe at her eyes, shrinking back from him slightly.

The hand on her shoulder held firm to keep her from escaping. “What’re you doing here?”

She looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. A twinkling at her ear caught his attention, green eyes fixing the simple black cabochon on her earlobe.

Her earlier words echoed in his mind.

_You give her back…_

_…back…_

He began to blink rapidly, a light shining over everything he had ever witnessed during his time as Chat Noir.

The mannerism…

The pigtails…

The bluebell eyes…

“You’re Ladybug…” he breathed.

She cringed. “I… I have to go…”

“Wait! My Lady…”

It was her turn to suddenly blink, looking up at him.

“My Lady, it’s me.”

He presented her his right hand, showing her the simple silver signet ring on his finger. Her small hands hesitated, and then tentatively took hold of his hand, her thumb absently brushing over the blank crest. Adrien heard her suck in a shaky breath.

Blue eyes rose to meet his, recognition behind the surprise.

“Kitty?”

He smiled gently. “Hi, Bugaboo.”

For what felt like an eternity she could only stare at him, her mind spinning and standing still at the same time as she tried to reconcile the person before her with her carefree and kooky partner.

And it suddenly all made sense.

Adrien always disappeared when Chat Noir appeared.

Both seeming to know things that only one side should have known.

She found him, her partner.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

A sob ripped from her throat as she crumpled against him, clinging to his shirt as she let the tears just flow. He enfolded her in his arms, face buried in her hair, letting her cry.

Adrien wasn’t sure if he wanted to cry along with her or just laugh.

On the one hand he had found his partner and it was the best possible person he could think of. By sheer dumb luck he had found her. His Ladybug was also Marinette, the most amazing girl he had ever met, the girl who both terrified him by her strength and inspired him by her determination.

Really, how could he have not seen those same traits in both personas?

On the other hand, they were still no closer to getting their kwami back. It felt as if they were missing a piece of themselves. Possibly this was true. Who knew how deeply they had bonded with the magical beings when they accepted the duty to protect the world.

But at least now they were together again. Their chances had increased from near zero to something a little more positive, if not still impossible feeling.

Her sobs soon quieted, but her grip on his shirt never lessened.

Adrien swallowed into the silence between them, not daring to let her go.

“We… we need a plan,” he voiced.

She nodded against him.

“Not here,” he continued. “There’s an all-night café on the other corner…”

Marinette heaved a heavy breath, finally pulling away from him, nodding loosely as he carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks. She said nothing when he helped her to her feet. She remained silent as he led her away from the building, only casting her eyes back over her shoulder at the stark walls.

“We’ll get them back,” he promised hopefully, a tentative hand to the small of her back to lead her away.

The café was dim and quiet, but the teens sought a booth in the back, away from prying eyes and ears. The conversation that would ensue was not meant for anyone else. Adrien managed to signal one of the servers to get them something warm to drink. He had felt Marinette tremble the entire way there, could see her hands shaking despite her best attempts to stop. She wasn’t cold, he knew that much. She was slowly slipping into a kind of shock.

Sitting at her side, he enfolded her hands in his to help steady her. She twitched from his contact and he understood.

This was unexpected, new.

They had never really meant to reveal themselves.

They had never expected this.

It was all so much to bare all at once: finding out their lost kwami were in terrible danger; and, their unintended reveal.

“Easy, My Lady,” he tried to soothe. “Slow, deep breaths.”

He merely watched as she obeyed his instructions, her shoulders slacking slightly. A waiter brought over some tea before disappearing again, and Adrien helped the girl hold the cup to her lips, encouraging her to drink.

“He’ll kill them,” Marinette stated finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “Ulcel, he doesn’t understand. What he wants to do, it’ll kill our kwami.”

“We’ll get them out before he can try anything.”

She met his gaze. “How? Without our powers… I can barely climb a fire-escape, how are we going to climb those walls? And the cameras…”

“Even the most secure fortress has a weakness. I should know, I’ve escaped my house enough times. We just need to find that same weakness here.”

“And I may be of help with that,” a new voice announced at the edge of the booth.

Both teens looked over to find a short Asian man standing next to the table, a concerned expression on his face. Adrien felt himself frown at this interloper, but Marinette merely indicated for the man to sit across from them.

“I am sorry it took me so long to notice the situation, my children,” he apologized with a slight tired groan as he sat. “I am not as young as I used to be, and things end up escaping me from time to time.”

“You are not the only one who missed this, Master,” a voice sounded from just within the man’s coat. “I also bare part of the blame.”

“Thank you, Wayzz, but I still feel I should have known.”

Noting the look on Adrien’s face, the girl seemed to realize that he didn’t know this man.

“Adrien, this is Master Fu, Great Guardian of the Miraculous, and his kwami, Wayzz.”

The boy blinked. “Guardian… _You_ gave us our Miraculous.”

“That I did, young man,” Fun confirmed, a smiling twinkle in his aged eyes. “But that is all a story for another time, when we all have the time to properly, eh, freak out over all this, yes? For now, there are three kwami who are in urgent need of rescue.” He looked back towards the rest of the café, making sure no one was listening, before returning his attention to the teens. “Wayzz and I have discussed the situation with the other kwami…”

“Other kwami?” questioned Adrien in shock. But then he held up his hands in apology. “Right, sorry, for another time.”

“We have discussed the situation and they have agreed to help anyway they can.”

Marinette shook her head after a moment’s pause. “We can’t ask them to do this. What if they get caught?”

“Ah, but that is the beauty of this, my dear Ladybug: You do not need to ask. And Ulcel does not want, or know, about the others. This is to our advantage.” He rummaged through his bag a moment before placing ornate little jewelry boxes on the table. “The Fox, the Ram, the Dragon, the Tiger, the Ox, and the Monkey have agreed to lend their particular skills in this situation: brute strength; great agility; and, a little magic. They have also agreed to work together so no need to remove the Miraculous each time or de-transform in order to access their powers.”

She tapped one of the boxes thoughtfully. “Practical. Alya got a hold of a floor plan of the Institut Pasteur online and I copied it off her phone. From what I could see quickly, there are a lots of sub-basements to that place.”

“He will be in the one drawing the most power from the grid,” Fu explained. “To do what he is trying to do, he will need a lot of electrical power.”

“Has someone tried this before?”

“Once, a little more than a hundred years ago, and he too was stopped in time. An Austrian scientist with a god complex. He did not have Tikki and Plagg then. But now, this one has them and he has Nooroo as well… This man, this Ulcel, is dealing with forces he has assumed he can control, but has no idea what their destructive potential can be if unleashed.”

“He can’t really transfer our kwami’s powers into hosts like he said, can he?” Adrien questioned, worry in his voice.

“No, kwami are bound to the Miraculous gems, which are in turn bound to their Chosen. You are what control their powers. What he intends to do will no doubt kill all three while releasing their powers in an apocalyptic explosion of raw energy. By Ulcel’s timeline, we have a little over three weeks remaining before he tries anything. Less than that for us to formulate a plan. I will assist you however I can.”


	2. Chapter 2

His cheek resting on the knuckles of one hand, green eyes stayed focused on the movements on a little brown ant on the concrete of the sidewalk before the school.  Adrien sat on the bottom step of the school’s main staircase, just watching the insect.

He sensed a shadow on his right.

“You’re here early,” an almost timid yet completely familiar voice stated, the tone slightly questioning.

The boy very nearly smirked.  “I could say the same for you, My Lady.  I walked this morning.”

Marinette sat at his side.  “Without your bodyguard or Nathalie?”

He shrugged.  “They seem a little more concerned with whatever Father is doing these days.”

“Sorry,” she winced.

“Nah, this is the most freedom I’ve had in a long time.  I have nothing on my schedule for the foreseeable future.”

He felt her lean closer, sensing her looking for the source of his attention from his periphery.  “Why are you watching an ant?”

“I’m contemplating the similarities.”

“You can lift fifty times your own weight, Kitty?” she smirked.

Adrien had to huff a smile.  “No, well, not without Plagg.  No, I’m just thinking how if this ant disappeared no one in its colony would notice.  No one in its family would go looking for it.  A lot like me.”

Her fingers gripped his sleeve almost desperately, forcing him to look at her.  “Your friends would notice!  If not, I definitely would.  At Christmas, all of us went out to look for you when you ran away because we care and were worried about you.  We all care for you and that in itself makes us all family.  Don’t you dare think for a second that you haven’t made an indelible mark on all of us.”

Marinette noticed him staring then, his eyes just a shade too intent that she felt the heat rush to her cheeks.  Flustered, she dropped her hands to her lap, her fingers suddenly very interesting.

“You care too, My Lady?”

The question was asked so softly and with so much innocence that Marinette felt her heart squeeze painfully.  Everyone knew how much of a tyrant his Father was, doling out punishments in far greater numbers than praise and love.

Was he truly this starved for affection?

She must have paused a little too long in her reply, suddenly feeling his chin rest on her shoulder.  Panicked and wide blue eyes darted to the side, her breath locking in her throat at the sight.

Kitten green eyes glowed up at her, his bottom lip in an ever so subtle pout.

_Dammit!_

“You care too?” he repeated.

She heaved a sigh, unable to resist the doe-like look he was giving her, and offered what she hoped was her most reassuring smile.

“Of course I do, Kitty.  What kind of question is that?”

“You hesitated.”

“You were staring.”

He smirked.  “Kind of hard not to when you start with that _I’m going to convince you no matter what_ tone of yours.”

Marinette blinked.  “I have a tone?”

“That commands the attention of the masses.  A lot like Ladybug,” he teased.

She shook her head with a small chuckle.  “Stupid cat,” she breathed.

Adrien laughed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and nestling his cheek to her shoulder.  “You love me anyways, Bugaboo.”

She leaned her head to his as she gripped his arm, a pleasant flutter in her stomach.  “Yeah… I do…” she admitted softly.

He smiled, tightening his arms just a little.

Every fiber of her being was screaming in sheer delight. 

Adrien, the love of her life, the only boy who could cause her insides to twist into happy little knots from just a simple glance in her direction, was hugging her.  Had anyone asked her if such a thing was even possible she would have laughed in that person’s face.  Not long ago he had never even noticed her as anything more than a friend.

But Chat Noir was different. 

More than once he had professed his deep affections to Ladybug.  He had even told Marinette as much during the time he had to battle the Glaciator akuma. 

And now they both knew.

It made things awkward, but at the same time things were so much easier.  She could talk to him now without tripping on her words.  Their conversation with Fu the night before was proof of this. 

And his flirting, once only the domain of her leather clad partner, came easily to the boy.

Yes, she could definitely get used to this.

Even if it did add an element of caution should Hawk Moth ever akumatize one or the other.

Thankfully the villain seemed to be scarce these days.

“So, do you still feel like an ant?” she questioned.

“Nope,” he grinned, raising his head.  “Now I feel like an eagle.”

Marinette raised a curious eyebrow at him.  “An eagle?”

He spread his arms wide, imitating wings.  “I’m soaring.”

A slow smirk tugged the corners of her lips.  “Doesn’t that make you a catbird?”

He looked off in the distance, thinking about the name.  “Catbird Noir?” he mused.  “Doesn’t quite flow as well as just Chat Noir.”  His expression became serious all of a sudden.  “You really think Master Fu can help us get our kwami back?”

“He’s been doing this for just over a hundred seventy years now.  He must know what he’s doing.”

Adrien hissed softly.  “A hundred seventy years…  Think we’ll ever live that long?”

“We’re Miraculous holders,” she smiled.  “I think chances are a little better than average that we will.”

“I wonder what we’ll look like with wrinkles.”

Marinette began to giggle.  “Please!  You’ll be ordered in your Father’s will to get Botox injections until the day you die.  Can’t have Paris’s _golden boy_ looking like a prune.”

He chuckled.  “At least I’ll make a pretty corpse.”

“A lot of time left to worry about that.  Almost two centuries.”

“Will…” but he paused suddenly, turning away to look at the ground.

She watched him, waiting quietly for him to gather his thoughts and perhaps say what he had intended.  His teeth worried at his bottom lip.  She stayed silent, understanding his pause. 

Having been Chat Noir’s partner for so long, Adrien’s partner, she had learned that he sometimes needed to work his more profound thoughts together into something cohesive.  Now knowing Adrien and Chat Noir were the same, Marinette realized where this hesitation was born from.  His Father always demanded perfection in every aspect of his life, so much so that even this thoughts must have aligned to that standard.

Every few seconds his eyes would flick over to her, as if checking to see if she was still waiting on him.

Adrien heaved a deep breath, steeling himself, so used to things going wrong.

“Will… will we still be together then?”

The question was so innocent, so tiny and needy, that the girl felt the reassuring smile spread over her lips before she even thought of it. 

She linked her arm in his and gave a slight tug.

“Master Fu once told me that the Ladybug and the Chat Noir were Ying and Yang, always intertwined, always the balance of the other.  They temper each other.  He said that’s why choosing their wearers is something done so carefully.  The Chosen have to be just as in balance as the Miraculous they’ll wear.  He didn’t just decide we would be the Chosen.  He said he knew about us, had been watching us since we were kids.  He said he once saw two little kids at a park, meeting for the first time, playing together without once ever saying anything to each other, only laughing and smiling.”

“Us?  But, I don’t remember…”  He blinked quickly, images flying before his mind’s eye.  “Oh, wow, I almost forgot about that,” he breathed, a slow smile creeping over his lips as the memory formed.  “I was five.  It was on the _Champ de Mars_.  I got away from Father and Mother, but I felt lost being alone all of a sudden.  You were the one that found me.”

“You were close to crying next to the _Bassins du Champ de Mars_.”

“You shared your juice box with me and took me to your parents.  We played tag for what felt like hours until Mother and Father found us and took me away.  I cried for the rest of the day after that.  The few times we went back to the park, I kept looking for you, but you were never there.  God!  How did I forget that?”

“It was the only time we saw each other as kids.  Took me a while to remember that day too, Master Fu had to fill in a few of the details.  We clicked as kids.”  A blush began to color her cheeks, suddenly shy as she realized what she was about to say next.  “So, I have to believe that means we’ll always be together.”

His happy smile was almost bright enough to dazzle as he slung an arm around her shoulders, tucking her close to his side.  “All the more reason to make sure we get our kwami back then.  I plan on keeping you with me forever.”

Her blush deepened at that affirmation, at how easily he said and meant it, and she hid her face behind her hands, a giggle escaping her throat.  “Never thought I’d live to see the day where I would hear you say that to me.”

“I tell you that all the time,” he responded, indignant, as her hands finally fell away from her face.

“You tell me that all the time as Chat Noir, and only to Ladybug.  Adrien to Marinette was a lot less likely.”  She had a pause.  “Were… were you disappointed?”

He blinked, looking at her.  “Disappointed?”

“When you found out I’m Ladybug… was Ladybug…  All this time, placing Ladybug on some impossible pedestal, only to find out it’s just me behind the mask.  That probably burst your fantasy.”

He blinked again.  “Why would it?”

She refused to look at him.  “Because I’m not her.  It’s just me and not the superwoman you were expecting.”

“Marinette, I’m glad it’s you and not some superwoman.  Thrilled, even.  Ecstatic!”

She blinked up at him in all innocent confusion.  “What?  W-why?”

“Because someone who can be perfect like Ladybug every single day, every single second, is impossible and chasing her would be like chasing after a comet.”  His smile became ever so tender.  “But she’s not perfect.  You are Ladybug when you need to be: fierce; strong; a goddess.”

She had the grace to blush, causing him to chuckle.

“And the rest of the time you are Marinette: loyal; warm; determined; human with all the faults and clumsiness that comes with it.  The mask is just a mask hiding the hero I already knew you were.  Why would I be disappointed about that?”

“Because I’m not Ladybug,” she near whispered.

He smiled gently.  “And yet, you are.  You are My Lady _and_ my Princess.  And I couldn’t be happier.”

Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes closed.  She leaned into him to wrap her arms around his neck, face buried to his shoulder.  He twitched ever so slightly in surprise, but recovered quickly enough to enfold her in his arms almost protectively.

“Damn you, Kitty,” she ground fiercely into the crook of his neck.

He laughed, squeezing her close.  “Are you always this self-deprecating of your civilian self?” he questioned warmly.

“Alya calls it overly critical.”

There was another pause.

“Were you disappointed it was me?” he asked.

Her arms tightened around him.  “Never!  Surprised… maybe a little unnerved because never in a million years would I have guessed my goofy cat was also you… but _never_ disappointed.”

“Thank you, My Lady,” he breathed, a happy smile in his voice.

*   *   *

Nino noticed them first, but it was Alya who realized who they were.

The boy had pointed out to his girlfriend that they weren’t the first to arrive at the school, indicating the pair at the bottom of the building’s main stairs.  It was kind of cute to watch, the boy of the seated pair was practically draped across the girl’s lap as she toyed with his hair and rubbed his back, almost as if she were tending to a cat.  And the boy seemed to be lapping up every moment.

Nino chuckled, giving a gentle elbow nudge to his girlfriend’s side.  “Hey, Alya, think that guy over there can purr?”

He noticed her blinking rapidly as she stared at the pair, almost capable of seeing the lightbulb go off when recognition set in.

“Oh, my god!  That’s Mari and Adrien!”

He whipped around to stare at the couple in disbelief.  “What?”

It couldn’t be their friends.  Marinette found it nearly impossible to speak two coherent words in a row to the blonde model, let alone be in his company without melting into a puddle of goo at his feet. 

As for Adrien, he had seemed to have relegated the girl to the status of friend, but nothing more.  He enjoyed the girl’s company, but there had never been any inkling of a romantic interest. 

Certainly nothing that would explain how he was now draped across Marinette’s lap, nor how she didn’t seem to mind at all while being surprisingly composed about it.

“No way!” he gasped.  “When did that happen?”

“I have no idea.”  A determined smile spread across her face.  “But I intend to find out.”  She stalked towards the pair with Nino jogging to keep up.  “You two are awfully chummy,” she announced, an accusing tease in her tone.

Neither of them jumped, something Alya had steeled herself for.  Instead, Adrien merely rubbed his cheek against Marinette’s thigh contentedly as her hand played in his hair.

“Nothing awful about it,” he near mumbled, a goofy grin on his lips.

Marinette tittered quietly.  “I should stop before you fall asleep.”

“First real sleep I’d have in a long time, Princess.”

Her smile softened as she lightly scratched his back.  “Poor Kitty.”

Alya’s eyes bulged.  “Kitty?  Princess?” she exclaimed.  “And you’re not a stuttering mess?  Did we miss something?  Yesterday, you two looked like someone died, barely even looking at each other.  Now he’s acting like your personal lap cat.”

“Misery loves company,” the drowsy boy grumbled.

“Adrien and I ran into each other after school yesterday,” Marinette began, careful in her explanation.  “We talked after I got over my nerves.”

A slow smile turned up the corners of his lips, realizing she was basically telling the truth while omitting key details their friends weren’t ready to know.

“It was so easy after that,” she continued.  “It wasn’t until Maman called me to come home that we realized we had just talked until really late.”

“Dude, your Dad didn’t call on the _gendarmerie_ to come find you?” Nino questioned the model.

The smile fell away, green eyes opening to reveal his dejected state of mind at the thought.  “Father seems to have more important things to worry about lately.”

Marinette looked down at the back of his head in sympathy, one hand carding through his soft locks while the other hand tenderly rubbed his back.  All morose thoughts were banished, his eyes closing once again, tensing muscles melting to a more relaxed state.

“That _person_ is a taboo subject from now on, Nino,” Marinette warned protectively.  “He doesn’t deserve the time or even a thought.”

Alya blinked.  “Wow, now this is new.  You practically worship the ground Mister… um, he walks on and now this?  Just how late did you two talk?”

“We ran into each other about six.  Maman called, I think it was close to midnight.”

“Six hours.  Impressive that you managed to keep it together for so long.  So… Chloé doesn’t know about this yet?”

A blood curdling scream rendered the air, startling the four and almost causing Adrien to tumble from Marinette’s lap.  He recovered with a dreading sigh, feeling the knot form in his shoulders from the impending tantrum that would soon follow.

“She knows now,” he groaned.

“You really don’t have an easy life, Kitty,” Marinette breathed so only he could hear, gently rubbing his back.

An agreeing whimper escaped his throat.

“Dupain-Cheng, get your filthy _peasant_ hands off of _my_ Adri-kins this instant!” Chloé Bourgeois shrieked in pure rage, stomping over to the group.

Almost beyond calm, Marinette rested her cheek in her hand, elbow resting lightly on Adrien’s back.  “If you haven’t noticed, Chloé, Adrien is the one sprawled across my lap all on his own.  I’m not holding him back, he can get up any time he wants.”

The model settled more comfortably in her lap.  “Why would I want to?” he mumbled.

Marinette smirked at the back of his head, rewarding him with a light scratching of his scalp.

Chloé actually blanched, as if somehow the prospect of Adrien being with anyone but her was slowly starting to become a possibility.  That thought in itself began the little angry fire within her.  The thought of Marinette Dupain-Cheng being with _her_ Adrien only fanned those flames.

No, that would not do.

She grabbed his arm and yanked him none too gently to his feet, wrapping herself around him as if to stake her claim.  Adrien awkwardly held his arms up away from her, something one usually does when trying not to touch something or someone, most often in disgust.  His expression clearly conveyed his discomfort, both at the situation and Chloé’s vice-grip around his chest.

“Mark my words, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloé hissed, venom in her tone.  “Adrien is _mine_.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” the boy in question posed.

As if remembering herself and how she was acting, she quickly released the model, her expression cloyingly sweet and in exaggerated apology.

“Oh, of course, Adri-kins!” she gushed.  “You always have a say.  Go ahead and tell everyone the honest truth of who you belong to.”

“This’ll be good,” Alya smirked evilly.

Marinette clicked her tongue at her friend as she stood, smiling patiently at no one in particular. 

This whole situation had been expected.  It had actually been part of their conversation the night before shortly after Master Fu had left them.  Adrien had been very acutely aware that he wouldn’t be able to leave Marinette alone now, and he had also made it clear that Chloé would try anything and everything within her power to keep them apart.  Much as he didn’t want to break his friend’s heart, he conceded to the fact he would have to.

If anything, that admission had melted Marinette’s heart to him even more.  Despite the grief Chloé or his Father had caused him over the years, he couldn’t find it in him to hurt them in any way.

He was just far too good for this world.

Adrien gave his partner a plaintive look before heaving a heavy sigh.  She understood, offering a tiny nod of encouragement.

“I don’t belong to you, Chloé.”

“There!  You see?  Now—”  The Mayor’s Daughter froze in mid-dismissal of the other teens as the words sunk in.  She blinked in confusion at the boy.  “What… what did you just say?”

His shoulders straightened, his courage bolstered now that the words were finally out.  “I don’t belong to you.  You can’t decide things for me.  I shouldn’t have let you all these years.”

Nino gave his friend’s shoulder a squeeze in support, receiving a smile from him in thanks.  They all knew this was hard for him to confront the girl.  They had been best friends for years, though possibly an imposed upon friendship from the girl.  And now to start severing the ties she kept wrapped around him, it had to be tearing him apart inside.

Chloé was beyond confused and more than a little worried about this turn of events. 

This was not happening.

“Adri-kins,” she cooed in her sweetest voice.  “Are you sure you know what you’re saying?”

“Absolutely.”

She blinked, her face reddening in mounting anger at the situation.  “But… you _can’t_!”

“Why?  Why can’t _I_ decide _my_ own life?”

“Be… because… because…”

“Chloé, enough.  This is my life, so my choices.”  He turned to his friends.  “Let’s go inside.”

Leaving the fuming girl to simmer on the sidewalk, the quartet turned away to climb the stairs up to the school.  They remained silent, letting Adrien collect himself for the time being.  A few feet away from the locker room, he stopped, closed eyes fixed on the ground.  Alya found herself gripping his shoulder in sympathy, Marinette pressing close to his other side, and Nino standing in front of him as if shielding him from the view of the other students that might be around.

“You going to be okay, Sunshine?” Alya questioned gently.

He sighed heavily.  “I don’t know…”

Marinette wrapped her arms around her partner’s waist to cuddle him warmly, wanting nothing more than to wrap him in all the comfort she could muster.  She felt him lean against her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders to keep her close.  During their patrols as Ladybug and Chat Noir, after trying days, they would often sit together in silence, shoulder to shoulder or with an arm simply slung around the other’s shoulders. 

As their civilian selves and now knowing their alter-ego, Marinette no longer had to be afraid to offer that same silent comfort to the boy.

“Like, I know this isn’t what you probably want to hear right now, Dude, but you know she was toxic,” Nino stated carefully.  “She’s not you’re only friend anymore, Bro.  You have us.”

“Nino’s right,” Alya agreed.  “Even as your first friend from childhood, you don’t have to always defend her or put up with her crap.  You don’t owe her.”

“Sometimes I feel like I do,” he admitted softly.

Alya shook her head slowly.  “Friendship doesn’t work that way, especially not one-sided like with her.  Real friends hang out and do things just because.”

Adrien offered a morose smirk to his friends.  “Guess I still have a lot to learn about life in the real world, don’t I?”

“Just a bit, Sunshine,” she smiled.  “But you have a good teacher right there to help you,” and she indicated the ebon-haired girl at his side with a slight jerk of her chin.

“You’ll help me, Princess?” he directed to his partner, his expression ever so hopeful.

His positively kittenish eyes almost dared her to say no, like he was almost expecting it, and it broke her heart.  She offered her most tender smile at boy, promising herself to make sure he would never again feel alone and neglected.

“Always, Kitten,” she assured, arms tightening around him.

“Now, I want to know where those pet names came from,” Ayla probed, a teasing grin on her face.  “We need to have a study session and have you two spill all the details.”

The heroes spared the briefest glance at each other, a silent signal to fall back on the story they had discussed last night that they had agreed to give their friends.

“Sorry, Alya,” Adrien began.  “Father has me on a tight schedule after school for the next while.”

“And I have to help out my folks in the bakery.  Also, Adrien invited me to some of his shoots to learn about the industry a little.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s why you invited Mari,” Alya teased.

Nino chuckled in agreement.  “Very smooth, Bro,” and the pair walked away towards the locker room.

“Told you they wouldn’t think that was so innocent,” Adrien whispered.

She merely blinked after their friends.  “Sounded innocent enough to me.”  She shook herself back and looked at him.  “So we’re heading over to Master Fu’s after school?” she questioned, opting to change the subject for a few moments ago.

“Definitely.  The sooner we start training with the new Miraculous, the sooner we can go out and stop Ulcel, and long before he even starts his little plan.”

“I can’t wait to get Tikki back.  I miss her so much.”

“Plagg may be a real pain sometimes, but I miss him too.  The house is just so quiet and empty without him to talk to.”

“Tell me you’re really not as alone as you’ve always alluded to as Chat.”

His expression was plaintively guilty, his crooked smile out of place on his face.

For the second time in a few minutes, her heart broke.  “Oh… Oh, my poor Kitty.”

“It’s really not that bad,” he told her softly with a slight shake of his head.

“No, it’s so much worse.”  She touched his cheek with light and tender fingers.  “My poor sweet Adrien.”

He blinked, green eyes fixing her blue.  “ _Your_ Adrien?” he questioned almost carefully, yet insistently.

Marinette recoiled as if burned, horror on her face when she realized what she said to him.  She felt the heat of a deep blush race up her neck to the tips of her ears, her nerves disconnecting her brain from her mouth.

“I… n-no… not m-mine… well, m-my pa-partner… my b-best friend, y-yes…”

Mentally she cursed herself for her babbling, wanting to find the nearest hole or crack in the wall and crawl into it to just disappear from existence.  She began to shrink on herself.

And the worst part was her mouth wouldn’t stop stammering away while the model just looked on.

“B-but not… n-not _mine_ m-mine… n-not unless y-you… no, no, no…”

She heard him chuckle gently before his hands cupped her face.  Her brain finally shut down for the moment he was smiling at her.

“It’s alright, Marinette,” he assured.  Adrien’s smile then became coy.  “On one condition.”

Marinette blinked in all confused innocence.  “Con… condition?”

Adrien leaned in towards her until their noses almost touched.  “I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine,” he voiced softly, his coy grin becoming tender.

Had it been physically possible, Marinette would have melted into a pile of happy goo at his feet.  He was definitely her suave partner.

“Oh,” she breathed, managing to find her voice again, a dreamy smile on her lips.  “Okay.”

A squeak escaped her lips when his arms wrapped around her waist to hold her tight, lifting her off the ground, his face buried in the crook of her neck.  She reciprocated, arms winding around his neck and pressing her face against his pulse.

“I can definitely get used to this,” she breathed.

Adrien laughed as he spun them in place.

*   *   *

A delicate gloved finger tapped at the glass cylinder where the tiny red being floated, suspended in air and not registered anything around it.  Dark green eyes blinked at him, wanting it to open its eyes for even a moment.

She was almost desperate for it to see her.

She was going to be bonded to this creature in a few weeks.

This was Ladybug’s creature… fairy… whatever!

This was the superhero’s power source. 

And soon it would be hers.

Ladybug had ruined her carefully laid plans in Paris a year ago. 

She was going to be the most popular girl at the school. 

She was going to get Adrien Agreste as her boyfriend. 

Everyone was going to believe she was the descendent of a superhero. 

Her life was going to be perfect.

And somehow Ladybug had heard about her lie about being her best friend. 

Never in a million years had she thought a superhero would have the time to keep tabs on a blog.  The Ladyblog was a popular site in Paris, that was a given, but to be actively viewed by Ladybug?  That was something she had never expected.

Damn that interview she did for that site!

Not only had Ladybug called her out on her lie about being best friends with her, she did it in front of Adrien.

A frown knit her brows as she tapped the cylinder again.

She could destroy the girl now, but she needed this creature to know this too.

Everything about Ladybug had to suffer for how she treated her.

“I would ask that you stop tapping the containment chambers, Miss Rossi,” Matthis Ulcel chided almost too patiently as he walked into the lab.  “They are carefully calibrated to keep them in a state of stasis and you risk causing an imbalance.”

Lila Rossi never raised her eyes from the little red being.  “I want it to know it’s about to become mine and there is nothing her precious Chosen can do to stop it.”

“If the kwami wake, they will have the ability to escape,” he explained, taking notes off a large panel of registers.  “I am too close now to lose them.”  He moved away from the panel he was monitoring, towards another near a back wall where he adjusted dials very carefully.  “When you and the others have their powers, the whole world will see I was right.  And everything will be set right again.”

“You won’t tell me who the girl is who had this red bug, will you?”

“I have no idea who the girl is.  All I know is she had one of the two most powerful kwami that I needed.  Who she is was not important.”

“It’s important to me.  I could rub it in her face that I’m Ladybug now, that I am a real superhero now.”

“Your vendetta is of little consequence to my work.  If you want to find out who she is, do the work and track her down yourself.”

“I’ve done that for over the last year now!  The damned insect is good at hiding.”

“Of course she is.  The kwami taught her how since its been doing this for thousands of years.  It took me several years to figure out these creatures were responsible for some of the greatest figures in history.  They have the ability to change time, reverse death.  I intend to use those abilities once you bond with them.  Now go train with Terry and Eric.  You have to be at your peak for the transference.”

Lila stared at his back, imaging daggers sinking deep his flesh, before she turned and stalked out of the lab.  Men of science were so annoying and fixated, like that Max boy from her class a long time ago.  They only saw their goal and not all the little tendrils of possibilities their goal sprouted in every which direction.

She would get the adoration of all of Paris, as she knew she rightly deserved.

She was superior to them all.

It was basically her birthright to be adored and worshipped.

Adored and worshipped.

Now there was a possibility once she became the new Ladybug:  godhood.

It wouldn’t take much, with the powers she would possess, instilling a fear and respect on par with that of a deity was fully possible. 

Paris would be her temple.

Adrien Agreste would be her holy consort.

And she would find the girl who used to be Ladybug and force her through all sorts of delicious little tortures.

She smiled as she entered the training room where Ulcel’s other chosen heroes were busy sparring.

Yes, she would become a terrible and glorious goddess.

She would go back to the school, make her civilian presence known.  It wasn’t particularly something she was looking forward to, but it would help set her plans in motion.

She would try once more to insert herself into Adrien’s life, being more subtle and low key at first, maybe even apologize in some contrite way about her original lie.  As gentle a soul as she knew he was, he would readily accept her apology without hesitation.  From there it wouldn’t be difficult to flirt and woo him.  She knew how to be very charming and alluring when she needed to be.

She walked up to a sparring dummy, carefully going through her techniques and her percolating plan.

She would make Adrien hers before bonding with that kwami.  From there she would use her influence on him, her knowledge of him, to completely enamour him to her as the new Ladybug.  He was already enamoured with the original hero, making him believe she had now taken up the mantle would be easy.

And then she could begin her revenge.

She would set the city on a hunt for the former Ladybug and Chat Noir.  They had to pay for her humiliation.

Paris would become a holy state under her control.  Ulcel and his other two chosen could move on a do whatever they wanted, but Paris was going to be hers.

Along with Adrien.

Soon…

 


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien stood before the pull-down projection screen, scrutinizing the detailed blueprints tacked to it.

“Do your parents know you have this?” he questioned, turning his head to the girl currently sitting at a modest computer desk.

Marinette shook her head, pigtails bobbing from the move.  “They know about the screen, but not the blueprints.  They think I use this for designs.”

“I’m thinking Alya will have a fit if she ever learns how _Mission Impossible_ we went with all this.”

“If things go right, Alya will never know.”

He nodded, returning to studying the plans.  After leaving Master Fu’s shop they had come straight to the Dupain-Cheng home. 

Both had been more than a little surprised to find the old Guardian had such an extensive dojo hidden away in the basement of the building a few days ago.  Bamboo training mats were scattered all across the floors, Martial Arts weapons of every kind hung on the walls by category and size.  One by one over the last few days they had donned the new Miraculous items, getting used to their new powers and abilities.

Marinette had teased him lightly about choosing the Ox to work with.

“Does that mean you’re bull headed?” she had giggled.

“No, just keeping you from being called a cow,” he had responded with a smirk.  “Besides, you make a better ewe.”

She had blinked cutely before slapping his shoulder with a laugh.  She would take the Ram.

Both of those Miraculous had proven to be forces to be reckoned with.  Walls or any other barrier wouldn’t be able to stand a chance.

Marinette had insisted he take the Tiger seeing as he was already comfortable being a cat.  It too was a brute strength item, with a feline finesse that felt right to the former Chat Noir.  The silence and ability to stalk felt right and familiar.

As much as she wasn’t a fan of the Fox from her experience with Lila, she donned that Miraculous.  It suited her.  A Fox was a cunning and nimble creature, much like she was when Ladybug.  She could think faster, analyze situations with amazing clarity, and the power of illusion was really just a bonus to that.  If things got sticky, a well-placed mirage could get them out.

This had left the Monkey and the Dragon.

He had chosen the Monkey for himself, reasoning that with his Martial Arts training, the nimble agility of a Monkey could only enhance it.  He already knew that feline strength and grace made him more that confident on narrow surfaces or jumping from place to place.  Never could he imagine how much more the abilities of an ape could bring.

But the true wonder had been seeing Marinette work with the Dragon Miraculous.  She was like a Firebender from the Avatar cartoon.  Flames obeyed her every thought, once she got over her fear of being burned.  That had been put to rest when she found out the Dragon Miraculous made her impervious to fire.  With that knowledge she soon learned to create flames out of thin air, make them grow or shrink them at will, or change their temperature and composition depending on the need.  She could even create a smoking flame to create a smoke-screen.

After their first practice it had been Marinette to insist he come back to her home.  She had told her parents that Adrien was alone for the next few weeks.  She had barely finished saying that when her Mother had insisted he stay during the entirety of that time.  That hadn’t exactly been the plan, but if this meant he could get out of his house and experience what it was to be in a real home, he would gladly accept.  Her Father had helped move a few things around in Marinette’s room and set up a folding bed they kept for guests.

That had been nearly a week ago.

It almost seemed his Father and staff hadn’t noticed he was gone.

“You’re sure your parents aren’t tired of me staying here?” he asked.

Marinette smiled at the back of his head.  It was a common question from him now, so worried that he was a nuisance.

“I caught them making plans to buy the apartment next door to turn it into an extension, specifically pointing out which room would be yours.”

He chuckled.  “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Seriously though, the answer is the same as the other ten times you’ve asked today, and the day before that, and the day before that:  My parents and I are completely okay with you staying here as long as you want.”

He turned his head to smirk at her cutely.  “Careful, My Lady, or this stray may just move in on a permanent basis.”

Her smile faltered at that, knowing the truth behind his words.  His home life was a prison most days, school and the rare few outings he was permitted his only escape and anchor to sanity.  Quickly she got to her feet to press herself flush to his back, arms wound tight around his chest.  She rested her cheek to the back of his shoulder.

The move surprised him for only a heartbeat.  He then held her arms in place, letting himself soak up the affection. 

The part of him that had normalized his life until now almost made him tell her that it was okay, that he was used to it. 

The newer part of him that understood what a real family was supposed to be like shut that voice down.

He had experienced a real family here. 

Tom and Sabine didn’t control his meals, if he wanted seconds or thirds he was welcome to it.  He had actually gained a few pounds his Father would scream at, if the man ever spent more than a second in his presence.

They understood that if he was too tired to go to his fencing practice or Martial Arts class, he didn’t need to go.  They made no demands on him and accepted whatever he offered, even if they protested that it wasn’t necessary.  He had learned how to make simple meals and how to wash dishes from them, skills he was now grateful to have for his future.

And they flat out rejected money.

In fact, hugs seemed to be the currency of choice in this household. 

A thank you was always accompanied by the warmth of arms wrapping tight around one’s person.  Sometimes hugs were doled out just because, no reason what so ever.  As much as he loved getting those hugs, he preferred getting them most from his Marinette.

He had to smirk at that.

 _His_ Marinette.

His Ladybug.

It hadn’t been explicitly stated by either of them, but the comfortable routine and lifestyle they had fallen into practically broadcast it.  Even Nino had remarked how tied at the hip they had become.

They were a couple now.

Once this mission was over he would ask his partner out on a date. 

A real date.

No quick bite during a patrol, no group hang-out with their friends.

Just her with him, possibly doing the dinner and movie thing.

But first, they had to get their kwami back before anything else.

His eyes drifted back to the blueprint.  If everything went according to plan, after this coming weekend, only the most amazing of futures presented itself to all of them.

“Three more days,” he breathed.

“Three more days,” she agreed.

“Then we can have the freak out we didn’t have last week.”

She giggled softly.  “And the talk afterwards that we also didn’t get to have.”

“There’ll be lots of time then.”  His finger traced the path they would follow once in the building.  “I figure it shouldn’t take us more than two hours to get in, knock out the power, get to our kwami, and get out.”

“First thing I’m going to do is stuff Tikki full of cookies.  She’ll probably be starved after so much time locked up.”

“Plagg will all but demand his Camembert once we’re out.  Wonder what Nooroo eats…”

“He’s a butterfly kwami so I would think some sort of nectar.  I can get him some from the bakery, Papa uses it in his baking.  I am not letting him go back to Hawk Moth if we can help it.”  She released the boy to approach the screen, staring at the covert pictures they took of the camera-topped walls.  “The difficult part will be getting passed these.”

“Not really, Ulcel has the same way of thinking as my Father when it comes to camera security.”

She blinked at him in confusion.

“They’re all pointed down towards the street,” he explained, pointing out their angles.  “He’s not expecting anyone to come at him from above.”

“Oh, from the roof.”  Marinette pulled down a map of the city block the lab was on, carefully scrutinizing it.  “Not a lot of close buildings, but this one seems to share the electrical grid with the lab.  We could cross on the powerline here and access the basement through the elevator maintenance hatch.”

“That will add time to us getting to the basement, maybe an extra hour to be on the safe side and avoid anyone who might be around.”

“I peppered Max with questions about what to expect, making it sound like I was curious about the life of a scientist when at work.  If anyone is still in the building at night, they’ll most likely stick to their own labs or offices.  He said if anyone stays that late it’s because they’re on a roll with something and leaving would not be an option to them.”

“Good to know.  So little resistance from anyone except Ulcel and the people he’s chosen to try bonding our kwami to.”

“Those three might be a problem if they’re actually trained to fight.”

“I’m trained to fight too.  But they won’t have a Miraculous and we’ll have three each.”

“True.”  She sighed heavily.  “I can’t help but feel like something will go wrong.”

“That’s why where doing all this planning, Bugaboo.  The path in is straightforward.  And we have contingencies in place, and contingencies to the contingencies.  It’ll work.”

She bit the tip of her thumb, a move he had learned meant she was doubting herself.  Adrien gripped her shoulders to turn her towards himself, his most reassuring expression on his face.

“It’ll work,” he repeated more firmly.

Her hand fell away from her face and her shoulders straightened, bolstered.  “It’ll work,” she agreed.

*   *   *

Part of her dreaded returning to these halls.

This was a building full of adults and teens who might or might not know about her past and the lies she had once filled them all with.  This place was where she had intended to remake herself into the most popular girl in the whole school and have Adrien Agreste wrapped around her pinky.  How many people had Ladybug told about what happened in the park that day?  Who else knew the truth?

Another part of her rejoiced, as if this was a homecoming.

There wouldn’t be anymore lies needed.  She was coming in as a soon-to-be superhero, a goddess in the making.  She could hold her head high with the knowledge that the tales she had spun a year ago were going to become truths. 

Movies _would_ be made about her. 

Songs _would_ be written about her. 

She _would_ be adored!

So that morning she had picked out her best outfit, had applied her best make-up to make herself look as gorgeous as she could without looking overly made up, and had brushed her hair until is shone before styling it.

She strode up to the school with purpose, her head held high, a bright smile on her lips as she waved to anyone who even glanced her way.

“Well, well, well…  If it isn’t Li-Liar back from the little self-pity purgatory she ran off to.”

Lila Rossi allowed herself a momentary scowl.  She knew this moment was coming, it was inevitable. 

The scowl vanished and she plastered a bright smile, turning to face Chloé Bourgeois.  The Mayor’s Daughter was glowering at her once rival, clearly not liking the fact the girl was back at _College Francoise Dupont_.

“Oh, Chloé!  It’s so good to see you again,” Lila gushed.

“Save it, Rossi,” Chloé snapped.  “I don’t know what you’re thinking coming back here after the stunt you pulled.  I mean, really?  You and Ladybug being best friends?  As if!”

Ah, so Chloé knew…

“Oh, I’m totally over Ladybug,” she dismissed, forcing her smile to remain.  “She is so yesterday now.  I have bigger things in the works anyway.  Just a few more weeks and then I can tell everyone the simply immense news.”  She made a point to look around casually.  “Say, you wouldn’t happen to have seen Adrien this morning?  I have a few things I want to talk about with him that I know he’ll want to hear.”

An evil smirk crossed Chloé’s lips, one that Lila didn’t like the implications of.

“You’re a week too late, Rossi.”

“What… what is that supposed to mean?”

Chloé balled her hands on her hips almost too proudly.  “Adrien is over there, but wait a sec and just watch.  You’ll see what I mean.”

Lila turned in the indicated direction and, sure enough, saw the golden-haired boy she was going to woo. 

But Chloé had piqued her curiosity with her comment, so she waited to see what would happen. 

He seemed to be searching for something across the courtyard.  She was tempted to do something to catch his attention when his eyes seemed to alight on his target.  He made a bee line away from them towards the opposite side of the courtyard. 

Lila could see three fellow student grouped together.

What were their names again?

Alya, Nino and, yes, Marinette: the girl who seemed to instinctively know she was lying to everyone.

No doubt he was joining his friends for a quick talk before heading off to class. 

What happened next dashed that thought.

She saw Adrien stride right up to Marinette, wrapping his arms around her waist to embrace her from behind, lifting her off her feet, his face pressed into her hair.  The girl laughed brightly, reaching back and affectionately ruffling his hair.  Unaware of any other eyes watching them, Marinette turned in his arms when Adrien set her back on her feet.  Her arms wrapped around his chest as she snuggled against him, his arms settling around her shoulders to cuddle her close.  The other two with them, Alya and Nino, laughed at them, speaking something Lila couldn’t hear.

“When… when did that happen?” the Rossi girl managed to stutter, unable to hide her shocked expression.

“Like I said, a week ago,” Chloé replied nonchalantly.  “We all showed up for school and he was practically curled up in her lap like some house cat.  I have no idea what Dupain-Cheng did or said to _my_ sweet Adri-kins, but now he’s completely ignoring me in favor of that little _nothing_.”

Lila began to blink rapidly.

_No, no, no, no, no…_

This threw a wrench in her plans. 

When she had first come to this school it had been common knowledge that Adrien had been the consummate bachelor, despite what the Bourgeois girl repeatedly said. 

He wasn’t tied to anyone. 

And up until just before Lila returned to this building, the celebrity rags had all stated the same thing:  He was single.

This development changed her plans.

She had only counted on courting him away from Chloé which, seeing as the relationship was really all on the side of the Mayor’s Daughter, wasn’t going to be very difficult.

But from what she could see of him with Marinette, he seemed completely enamoured. 

So was Marinette.

No, this would not do. 

She hadn’t counted on trying to turn his heart from someone else.

“This is a wrinkle,” she muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“Hm?  Oh!  Nothing!  Just thinking how lucky Marinette is.”

“Lucky?  _Ha_!  She a conniving little _nothing_ and I _will_ find out what she did or said to win _my_ Adri-kins.”

And she stomped off.

Lila stood there for a few moments more, and just watched her target. 

Adrien was almost possessive in his cuddling of Marinette, arms wrapped tight to keep her close.  And she didn’t seem to mind one bit.

This had to be a recent development for the tabloids to have not clued in yet.  True, the teen hadn’t been to any events or photo shoots lately, and his Father had been strangely quiet for the last few months.  It was almost as if the Agrestes had moved away from the public light, intent on becoming small. 

Lila nearly growled to herself. 

She couldn’t have her future consort or his rich and powerful family becoming recluses.  She was counting on their money and notoriety to bolster her image and help elevate her after she became a superhero.

She now had two issues to fix:  Make the Agrestes public again; and, get Marinette Dupain-Cheng out of the picture so she could claim Adrien.

The first could be relatively simple.  A few well-placed hints to the local rags, get a rumour to snowball…

The rumours could also be helpful in getting Marinette out of the way.  A good rumour had a tendency to destroy people if everyone believed the lie and not the truth.

Making it carefully damaging to only the baker’s girl would be the tricky part.

But it there was one thing Lila Rossi was good at it was twisting the truth or outright lying.  It would take outside help from the paparazzi, but she would get her prize.

*   *   *

“Master Fu said he’s ready to meet with us after tonight to see if he can keep Nooroo away from Hawk Moth,” Marinette told her partner as they left the lockers to exit the school.  “Wayzz is pretty sure that sending him into the Miraculous Box should sever the tie to the broach, at least temporarily.”

Adrien nodded slowly, mulling over that plan.  “A good idea to stop Hawk Moth, but won’t that make it harder to find the Miraculous and him?”

“Seeing as he won’t have Nooroo to power the Miraculous, he really won’t be an issue anymore.  Master Fu is working on a spell to follow the link they share.  Just like Tikki and Plagg can always find their way back to us, there’s a kind of, I don’t know, string?  That leads from the kwami to the Miraculous.”

“He couldn’t use that spell before?”

She shook her head in negative.  “It takes too long to put together.  And he needed to decipher the passage in the book that had that spell.  Besides, with Nooroo there, it’ll be easier to align the purpose or energies or whatever it is he needs to follow.”

He paused a moment.  “Ready for tonight?”

Marinette sighed.  “No.”  And then a slow smile crept over her lips.  “But I wasn’t ready for any of this dating back to a year ago.  Why should any of it be different now?”

He chuckled softly in agreement.

“What about you?” she asked.

He smiled at her, taking her hand.  “I have my partner with me, so, yeah, I’m purr-fectly ready.”

She returned his smile.  “I really wish I had your confidence sometimes.  Right now my stomach is in knots.”

Adrien tugged her closer to tuck her against his side, arm around her waist.  “Everything will be fine, My Lady.  No more doubts.”

The tension in her shoulders loosened and she leaned into him.  “Right.  No more doubts.”

“We’ll spend most of Saturday cuddling our kwami and Nooroo, and then possibilities abound to what we do next.”

She giggled softly.  “Sounds paw-sitively purr-fect.”

He blinked in surprise at her pun before laughing, cuddling her close.

“Hey, you two might want to tone it down unless you want to make the cover of _Paris Match_ ,” Nino called over from where he and Alya were waiting near the school’s main entrance, almost standing guard in the open door with Mister Damocles and the school’s custodian. 

Alya made a _slow-down_ motion with her hand as the moved closer, urging them to stay hidden for now.  Carefully peering around a corner, the hidden heroes saw a crush of what seemed at first to be reporters.  Some had recorders at the ready, others had actual microphones, and just about all of them had cameras for video or pictures. 

Adrien hissed at the sight, pulling back around the corner.

“Paparazzi.”  There was clear distaste in his tone.

Marinette continued to surreptitiously watch the crowd from the door’s edge.  “What’re they doing here?”

The model pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his feeds, specifically to those Nathalie had long ago arranged for him to receive related to possible media attentions.

One headline suddenly caught his eye.

_Billionaire fashion designer throws Son out on the street._

He blinked at that title, reading it aloud to himself to make sure he hadn’t seen it wrong.

“What?” Marinette questioned, pressing close to his side to read off of his phone.

The article in question read almost like a docu-drama.  Supposedly Gabriel Agreste was furious at his Son and had thrown him out of the streets, never to be permitted to return, and cancelling all his modelling contracts in the same breath.  Cited sources, who were supposedly close to the situation, stated the reasons were due to a girl and a sudden pregnancy…

“I’m what?” Marinette squeaked in horror.

“Sources?  What sources?” and Adrien raised his eyes to Alya.

“Hey, don’t look at me, Sunshine,” she countered.  “I’m an honest reporter, not one of these leeches.”

“I’m going to go call the police to clear this up,” Mister Damocles stated.  “They’re frightening the students still waiting to leave the building.  And when I find the less than scrupulous individual who spread those lies about _my_ students…”

“You think maybe it was Chloé?” Nino opted as the Principal almost stomped away.

Adrien slowly shook his head in negative.  “This is not her style.  Not flashy enough and it doesn’t implicate her in any way.  She would have wanted the story to be about her too and in no uncertain terms.  Do they know I’m here?” he questioned, indicating the crowd.

Alya gave the paparazzi a critical glare, hands balling to her hips.  “If they do, at least they’re respecting the bylaw that reports can’t enter the schools unless specifically invited by the faculty heads.  You two will need to find another way out of here, this exit’s pretty much closed.”

“We’re open to suggestions,” Marinette stated.

“Don’t suppose either of you know parkour?” Nino offered.

“Something _I_ can do, Nino.”

“Right, right, sorry, Dudette.  Um… back door?”

“If they’re as blood-thirsty for this story as I think they are, there are paparazzi already there,” Alya supplied.

“Okay… um… ground floor windows?”

Adrien and Marinette shared a look in agreement.  Before their friends noticed, they dashed off for one of the classrooms at the back of the school, thankfully finding it open and empty. 

He got to the widow first, using his extra height to reach for the lock and release it.  She pulled the window open a split second after his arm fell away.  He peered out in one direction as she joined him to check the other.  This particular classroom gave onto an alleyway that was thankfully vacant.

They never spoke a word. 

Adrien quickly climbed out the window, keeping a watchful eye at both ends of the alley, and then turned to help Marinette down from the sill.  Staying close to the wall they quickly made their way to the end of the alleyway closest to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Looking around the corner revealed the extent of the size of the crowd.  And it wasn’t just paparazzi.  It looked like there were a number of Adrien’s fans in the group, possibly in order to support him against the article, or to be part of the mayhem surrounding it.

“They’re all focused on the door,” Marinette stated softly, knowing her partner was already surveying the rest of the area.

“The entire area leading up to the bakery is just so open.  I mean, we could duck around the long way by doubling back and going up the next street, but…”

“But that opens us up to being seen by possible spotters.”  He looked at her in surprise.  “What?  I’ve seen the posts by celebrities complaining about paparazzi setting up people to watch at corners and shops and restaurants.”

“Right.  So, is it too late for me to ask for a normal life?”

“Normal is over-rated, Kitty.”

He chuckled in agreement.

“If we just run for it, they’ll come after us right away,” she reasoned.

“So… we start with a casual walk, and then run if they notice us,” he concluded.

She smirked at him.  “My thoughts exactly.”

He returned the smirk.  “You’d think we’ve done this before.”

The pulled back around the corner, straightening with a determined expression on their faces, summoning as much of their confidence as they could.  Adrien reached over to take her hand in order to hook her arm with his.  With cool nonchalance, they walked out into the open, eyes fixed on the bakery ahead, their gait purposefully unhurried.

“Have they noticed us yet?” he asked softly from the corner of his mouth.

Blue eyes darted to the side.  “Not yet.  Just be cool, we’re almost there.”

“Adrien Agreste!” a voice called from the crowd.

“Crap,” Marinette hissed.

“Go, go go!” the model urged, tugging her hand as they both broke into a flat run.

“Side door!” she instructed, fishing her keys out of her clutch.

Adrien got ahead of her by a few strides.  She saw him grab hold of one of the bars for the wrought iron fence at the far corner of the bakery, turning sharply to hold a hand out to her.

She understood.

She gripped his hand tight, letting her momentum swing her around the corner towards the building’s residential door.  He fell in stride behind her, acutely aware of the crowd drawing near.  The key clicked in the door, they all but piled through, shutting the door tight behind them as they dropped to the ground to lean their backs against it, all before the crush has turned the corner.

They could hear the crowd on the other side.  They raced by, some questioning where the teens had suddenly disappeared to.  The teens could see shadows of the paparazzi peering through the windows of the door, checking to see if perhaps they had ducked into the building.  The pair curled tight to the base of the door, making themselves as small as possible not to be noticed.

Before long, the shadows stopped appearing and the street beyond fell silent.  Carefully they peeked outside, seeing no one around.  The paparazzi crowd and the following fans were gone, moved on to try to find them up the next street.

The teens dropped to their rears heavily with a deep sigh of relief.

Then they glanced at each other.

And promptly broke into hysterical giggles.

Having heard them from the bakery, Sabine walked out into the hallway and saw the pair laughing on the floor.  She blinked, confused.

“Are you kids alright?”

They looked up, noticing her for the first time.

“Uh…”  Adrien’s hand went to the back of his neck in habit, suddenly noticing their odd predicament.  “We’re okay, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng.”

“Are you sure?” she pressed.

Marinette offered her a smile.  “We just dodged some paparazzi that were staking out the school, Maman.  We’re fine.”

She seemed to visibly relax, a grin tugging the corners of her lips.  “Oh.  Well then…  Dinner is at six,” and she turned to go back into the bakery, closing the adjoining door behind her.

They stared at the door for the longest moment, stunned by her nonchalance.

And then they burst out laughing again.

“Your Mom is the absolute best,” he struggled to say, wiping the laughter induced tears from his eyes.

“Yeah, she’s pretty awesome,” she agreed, sobering slightly.  “Mecha Strike three to wind down?”

“Oh, definitely, and we can try to figure out who had anything to gain by dropping that story,” and he stood.

She smirked as she offered him her hands to have him pull her to his feet.  “How is it we do our best brainstorming while playing video games?”

He smiled a shrug.  “No idea, but whatever works.  Now, let’s see if I can actually win one game tonight.”

*   *   *

Lila watched the paparazzi and Agreste fans disappear down the street and scowled in clear annoyance.  These people were oblivious idiots.

She had been the one to call out Adrien’s name for them to notice the pair trying to casually walk passed them.

She had been the one to plant the story to get the whole frenzy started, making sure she never gave out her own name since she knew the Agreste legal team would come hunting for the perpetrator of such a story.

And those fools had refused to print the name of the Dupain-Cheng girl no matter how many times she dropped it during her tale.  If finding her name linking her to a story about a pregnancy didn’t drive the baker’s girl away from Adrien, then either the Agreste legal team or the constant pressures from the press would have done it.

But the decision was made by the media to withhold her name for some reason.

And now they completely failed to see the two duck into the residential side of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery to escape them.

She wanted to growl in frustration.

How difficult was it to put together the fact the teens had disappeared from view and that there was a door to an apartment that gave out onto that same street?

They didn’t even try the door to see if it was locked or not!

Driving away Dupain-Cheng from Adrien might prove to be a tad bit more difficult if she had to rely on the rank stupidity of the social rag press.  Thankfully, they were not her only source of annoyance for the pair.

Lila knew the paparazzi would hound them for the entire weekend for just one picture or a quote they could use to further the story.

She had a plan for Monday when they would return to school.

Making sure to show up early, she would strategically place herself at the door to the school.  When the Agreste’s car would pull up to the curb, she would race over in all concern and make it a point to fawn over Adrien, asking him if he was alright and offering counsel about the media. 

A few well-placed compliments at him and veiled disparaging comments towards Dupain-Cheng, and the seed of doubt would be sown. 

It would be so easy to drop a hint of two that perhaps it was the baker’s girl who had spread the story.  Carefully reminding him throughout the week, even subtly, would possibly be enough to turn him away.

With this plan in mind, her timetable shifted to solidifying him as her boyfriend within the next week after that.

That would leave only two individuals in the whole school who wouldn’t buy into her fanciful tales:  Chloé being one; and, Marinette the other.

Inconsequential.

The Mayor’s Daughter was a manipulator too, but she didn’t have nearly the same level of skills as Lila did.  And if this one tried anything she could accuse her publically of something or other and further turn her into the school’s pariah.  She was almost there as it was.

Dupain-Cheng was the real problem.  She had no proof that Lila had lied about anything, but she seemed to instinctively know.  And her friends were loyal to her, if not easily impressed by a story or two.  Turning everyone against her would be a far longer timetable that winning Adrien, and she wasn’t quite looking forward to that. 

It had to be quick and decisive.

Lila smirked at a thought.

She could wait until after receiving Ladybug’s powers.  It would be easier then to crush that girl from existence without anyone daring to get in the way.

Yes, now that was a plan that would cost her very little effort.

She glared at the blue door one last time before walking away.

“Enjoy the time you have left, Marinette,” she mumbled to the air.  “In two weeks, Adrien and all your friends will be mine, and there won’t be anything you can do about it.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Is there a reason you’re on my bed?”

Adrien cracked open an eye to see Marinette peering down at him from above his head.  She was leaning over the end of her loft bed, an amused quirk pulling up one corner of her lips.

He smiled in return.  “Your bed’s warmer.”

“Ah, so it has nothing to do with the fact you’re a cuddle needy kitty?” she teased, climbing onto her bed to kneel at his side.

“Well…” he drawled, “Not completely.”

“Knew it,” she giggled, poking his stomach.

In one swift move he pulled her down to the mattress, spooning her close with his face pressed to the back of her neck.  She hummed in appreciation of his warm breath against her skin, a soft titter following soon after when he began to purr. 

It had been an accidental discovery while watching a late night movie after coming back from training with Master Fu.  Adrien had very nearly curled up in her lap to allow her to card her fingers through his hair.  A few minutes later she heard a low rumble that she first thought had been a truck.  It wasn’t until she really concentrated on the new sound that Marinette had discovered her partner was purring contentedly from her ministrations.  At first embarrassed by it, he soon melted back into the purr when she admitted she liked hearing it, that it was comforting. 

Every moment he got after that he made it a point to purr, just for her.

Just like now.

“Can I ask you something?” he rumbled in a near whisper.

“Of course.”

“After tonight… after we get our kwami back… can… can I take you out on a date?”

She turned her head enough to see him from over her shoulder.  “A… a date?”

“Just you and me, anywhere and anything you want.”

He looked so hopeful, so afraid she would say no.  Marinette turned in his arms to face him, a gentle smile on her lips.

“I’d like that,” she agreed.

Green eyes seemed to light up.  “Really?”

“Really,” and she snuggled against his chest, nuzzling her face into his neck.

Adrien’s arms tightened around her.  “Does that mean Ladybug is now dating Chat Noir?”

She chuckled quietly at the hopeful tone in his voice.  “Seems like it.”

“And Marinette and Adrien are now dating?”

“Most definitely,” she breathed, lips feathering against his pulse.  She sighed softly.  “What that we could just stay like this.”

“Plenty of time for that after tonight.  Try to get some rest, My Lady, I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.”

She only hummed softly in agreement, already feeling sleep creeping over her senses by how warm and safe she felt in his arms.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so content.  Sleep took her to the sound of his heart beating, her mind blissfully blank.

Adrien allowed himself to watch her sleep while keeping an ear open to the sounds of the house.  He would give her parents half an hour after he heard them retire for the night before waking Marinette for their mission.

He liked watching the girl sleep.  She was just so cute on all levels, how she acted and how she looked.  There was a peace that seemed to emanate from her, a deep sense of trust towards the person at her side.  And to know that he was that person, that feeling was almost heady.  In so little time, a little over a week, they had gone from friends at arms length to this.  Sharing a bed at night, cuddles at any time during the day, learning that they weren’t just friends or classmates, but superhero partners.

It was somehow liberating knowing he didn’t have to hide from his Lady anymore.

And terrifying.

Terrifying to know the partner who seemed so in control and appeared so strong, was actually the same delicate girl who sat behind him every day at school.

Terrifying to know that one wrong word could make her vulnerable to their enemies and he could lose her.

His arms tightened protectively.

No, he couldn’t lose her, not now.

Carefully he nosed her bangs, breathing in deep of the light floral scent that clung to her from her shower earlier that evening.

“I will always protect you, My Lady,” he breathed.

She murmured something in her sleep, nuzzling closer. 

He smiled.

From somewhere down below in the apartment, he heard the telltale shuffle of Tom and Sabine turning in for the night, heard the quick click of lights being turned off and the door to their room closing.  He counted down the minutes, giving her parents plenty of time to fall asleep so as not to hear anything from Marinette’s room.

“Marinette,” he called, shaking her gently.

She surfaced almost instantly from her sleep, drowsy eyes rising to look at him.

“It’s time, My Lady.”

Marinette rubbed the sleep from her eyes, immediately feeling a sense of loss when he moved away to nimbly leap off her bed.  She didn’t need to question where he was going.  She had cleared a spot in a corner of her room to stow an old steamer trunk that they had filled with gear they would need for tonight.

The six Miraculous boxes.

Bags of sugar for back-up generators.

Ropes should the need arise to tie something or someone up.

Disguises since, between the six kwami, nothing they conjured properly hid their identities.

And letters, to their families and friends, to explain everything if things weren’t horribly wrong.  Adrien had balked at the idea of writing these, but he saw her reasoning behind it.

It was something good to have and not need, than need and not have.

While Adrien pulled items out of the trunk, Marinette silently made her way to his side.  Part of her felt the thrill of what they would soon do, what they had trained for so diligently. 

And then there was the part that dreaded going. 

That nagging little voice that kept repeating just enough, just loud enough, that something was going to go wrong.

She hated that voice, hated the feeling it washed over her. 

Marinette already knew she had anxiety issues, she didn’t need this to augment them. 

Especially not now.

Adrien’s hands found her shoulders to force her to face him.  He had noticed her silence, her fidgeting.  Of course he had noticed.  He was her partner, had been for close to two years now.  He knew her moods, sometimes even before she noticed them herself, just like she knew his.

“Hey,” he soothed just above a whisper.  “It’ll work.”

She nodded, finding a tiny kernel of resolve to latch onto from his confidence.  “It’ll work,” she repeated.

He tugged her towards himself, winding his arms around her shoulders in a tight embrace.  Cheek to his shoulder, she clung to him, drawing on the strength she could feel him willing to her.

“After tonight, everything will be okay again,” he breathed.  “We’ll have Plagg and Tikki back, you’ll be my girlfriend…”  She pulled back to see his playfully arrogant smirk on his lips and she understood the expression, gently thumping her fist on his back.  “And all will be right with the world.”

She had to laugh, albeit softly, her forehead to his chest.  “Silly cat.”  Marinette sighed softly, suddenly serious.  “I’m glad you’re here, Adrien, and that I’m not doing this alone.”

“You will never be alone, Marinette.  I will always be with you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She nuzzled his collar, breathing in deep while he held her for just a moment more. 

She needed this, just this little bit of time.

A precious few seconds.

Only then did she reluctantly move from his arms.

Quietly they called on the transformations of the six kwami assisting them, pulling on their disguises afterwards to completely conceal their identities.  They slung the packs with the remainder of their gear over their shoulders before quickly and quietly hopping out the skylight. 

It was a slight adjustment for the duo, a different sensation not having a yo-yo or a quarterstaff to leap from roof to roof.  After a year of using those magical tools, it was very new suddenly not having them.  But with their new kwami can new defences and offensive abilities.  They had trained with them during this last week, so they knew how to use those skills.

It didn’t make roof travel any less interesting.  That was the one thing they hadn’t trained to do.

The jumps were a little more awkward, their landings a little harder and stumbling than they were used to.  Even their balance was slightly off.

A few minutes later they arrived on the roof across from their destination.  The drab gray roof looked even more ominous from their angle, in nothing more that Paris’s nighttime light pollution.  Building angles were harsh and tight in this _quartier_ , the juxtaposition to other building almost odd.  Where the lot narrowed for the building brought it to within a few scant meters to its neighbor.

Quickly the pair dashed across to the roof, finding the elevator access they had identified earlier on as their point of entry.  The car cables proved useful in order to slide down towards the building’s lower floors.  They slid all the way to the last basement level, pausing at the door to carefully listen for sounds beyond.  Hearing nothing, Adrien used the strength of the Tiger Miraculous to pry open the elevator doors.  A long hallway opened up on the other side.  Drab concrete walls interspaced with stark wooden doors seemed to go on for numerous meters, a few of these offices lit from the inside, the light filtering through frosted windows in the doors.

Keeping low beneath the level of the windows, the pair crept forward.  Cognisant of every step, careful of any sound, they moved through the hallways towards they first target: the electrical room.

The corridors were a maze.

Marinette was thankful they had made careful study of the blueprints to know where they were going.  Identical as they all were, a person could easily lose their bearings in this sub-basement.

Both teens froze suddenly.

Footsteps.

Marinette looked to the dark office at her side and tried the door.  Her luck held, the door was unlocked.  Adrien was half a second behind her, closing the door enough to see out, but not be seen themselves.

It took everything they had not to react to the sight of the three walking by, or more specifically to one of the three:  Lila Rossi.

Adrien silently shut the door when the trio was far enough down the hall, sitting back on his haunches with a deep exhale.  “Lila,” he whispered, even knowing it wasn’t necessary, that Marinette had also recognized her.

“Alya said she was back at school.”

“I didn’t see her.  You?”

“No, but neither of us was really looking, were we?”

He gave her a knowing smirk before it dropped away in thought.  “She’s one of the people Ulcel wants to bind our kwami to?”

Marinette paused at that.  “Knowing how much she hates Ladybug, she probably insisted on taking Tikki for herself.”

“Wonder how he found her…”

“Probably she found him.  But the how and why aren’t important right now.”

“Right.  Questions later.  For now, mayhem,” and he rubbed his hands together with a little too much glee on his face.

“Down, Kitten,” she smirked.  “Stay focused.”

“I’ll have you know I am quite capable of following a plan while causing plenty of destruction along the way.”

“Plagg is such a bad influence on you.”

He huffed a quiet laugh before carefully peering out into the corridor.  Finding no one about, he motioned for her to follow, back on their mission to the generator room.  This part of the plan was rather simple:  sabotage the power source and prevent Ulcel from trying anything prematurely.

They were just a few scant meters away from their first target, but the blueprints never prepared them for how it would actually resemble. 

The generator room was a lot more massive than the plans eluded to, easily towering almost six meters in height, if not twice as wide.  Opposite walls were lines with large gas generators vented through hoses connected to special ductwork all to their own.  And on the far wall were the city’s power mains feeding in from the floor to a large junction box, numerous lines sprouting from its top like some sort of industrialized tree of metal and plastic.  Each generator spliced into this junction box, ready to take over the feed of power to the building should the main ever fail.

“Oh, wow…” Marinette breathed, looking over the room in awe.

“Way, way bigger than we thought.”

She dropped her backpack to the ground before beginning to rummage through the one on Adrien’s back.  “I don’t think we brought nearly enough sugar to take out the generators.”

Green eyes were fixed on the thick cables leading from the junction box, studying it carefully.  Both the city main and the backup generators connected to one central point under the panel.  The feeds to the rest of the building led out from the top.

A frown began to knit his brows as a plan began to take form.

“We have enough sugar for half a cup in each tank,” he voiced carefully.  “If anything, it should be enough to make them smoke over time, if not break down.”  His voice dropped to a near hush, “We might not need to do anything to them though…”

“I know that look.”

He blinked out of his thought, looking at her in surprise.

“You have the _I’m going to do something_ look.  You saw something here and it’s giving you an idea for a plan.”

“I…”  His mouth shut with a snap and he looked back to the building’s feeder lines.  “You’re going to think I’m a weeb.”

She smirked at him.  “I already do think you’re a weeb.  I’ve seen your anime and Disney movie collection, remember?”

He chuckled, eyes dropping to the ground.  “Right.”

“So, what’s your plan, Kitty?”

“Well…”  He sniffed at his own hesitation, knowing she would listen to his plan regardless of how weird or crazy the source of it was.  “Do you see how the cables branch out of the box before heading to the ceiling to feed the rest of the building?”

“Yes.”

“I was thinking I would channel my inner Inuyasha on them.”

She blinked cutely, processing his words.  He knew she knew which anime he was talking about, he had seen the DVD in her room.  But did she understand what his plan was? 

Her lips formed a perfect little o, comprehension washing over her expression.  She giggled despite herself and the situation.  Indulging him this little fantasy become reality was such a small thing that would make him very happy with himself.  She couldn’t deny him that little joy and future memory to laugh about.

“Knock yourself out, Kitty.”

A very Chat Noir smile spread across his face at the fact that she was humoring him, that she knew what he intended to do almost instinctively.  His heart swelled by how much more he could adore this girl.

Flexing his tiger-claw tipped fingers, Adrien took a bracing stance, a gleeful frown dominating his features as he leapt up towards the cables.

“Sankon Tessō!” he shouted, claws easy slicing through his target, leaving deep gouges in the cinderblock wall behind them.

The building lights went out instantly, plunging everything into a deep blackness.  The flashlight in the girl’s hands illuminated the room enough for the teens to see each other.

Marinette smiled at him as she shook her head patiently.  “You’re an impossible geek.”

He merely chuckled.  “Tell me that wasn’t cool, though.”

“Yeah, okay, that was cool.  And you’re having far too much fun.”  She tossed him a second lit flashlight.  “Now help me sweeten the disposition of these generators.”

They quickly got to work, knowing they only had a scant few minutes before anyone would come racing into the room to investigate.  Adrien was just pouring the last of the sugar into the final generator when they heard commotion outside coming towards them.  The teens dashed behind one machine, turning off their lights immediately.

The door slammed open as beams from numerous flashlights cut through the darkness.  Peering around the corner, the hidden heroes saw Lila Rossi and two others inspecting the room, lights flashing over gauges and wondering out loud to each other why the machines hadn’t kicked in as they were supposed to.  A light turned to the junction box before moving to a spot just above it, illuminating the sliced cables and gouged wall.

“What the Hell…” the male of the trio exclaimed.

“Looks like a bear attacked it,” the woman added.

The hidden teens could see Lila frown.  “Not a bear,” she stated.  “A Miraculous holder.  Whoever Ladybug and Chat Noir are must have gotten their hands on new Miraculous items and they’re trying to get their whatever-they-are in the lab back.”

“You never said there were other Miraculous,” the man accused.

“And?”

“You said you were an expert in Miraculous,” the woman snapped.  “How could you not know?”

“That’s not important right now!” Lila retorted.  “There are intruders going for the lab and we have to stop them.  Ulcel isn’t ready for the transfer.”

“There’s only one way in or out of here, so they must still be here,” the man reasoned, causing Marinette and Adrien to stiffen in worry.

“Eric, you are such an idiot sometimes,” Lila admonished.  “They’re using magical items.  For all we know they walked right out while we walked in, cloaked somehow.  They could be anywhere in the building.  There are so many Miraculous gems out there, even I don’t know what they all do.  No, we head back to the lab and we wait for them there.  They’ll come to us.  Terry, tell Security to sweep this floor completely.”

“There are only three of them on duty tonight,” Terry informed.  “They won’t come down here with us here, that’s what they said the arrangement was with Ulcel.”

“Damn him…  Alright, back to the lab anyway.  I will not lose my chance to get back at Ladybug.  Her insect’s powers are mine.  Let’s go.”

The pair in the shadows carefully ticked away the seconds after the group left before finally emerging from behind a generator, turning on their flashlights as they did.

Marinette sniffed, insulted.  “Insect?”

“Wow, she really hates you.”

“I didn’t really ingratiate myself to her on our first meeting.”

“True, but this goes beyond holding a grudge.  Doesn’t it?”

She exhaled heavily.  “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

“What?”

“She wanted fame, wanted to be liked by everyone.  She wanted you.  Ladybug didn’t exactly help her with that plan.”

“All her doing.  Had she just told the truth to begin with…”

“But then she wouldn’t have been special, like she wanted to be.”

Adrien suddenly understood.  “Well, if she wants to be the new Ladybug to try to impress Paris and win me over, it’ll be over my dead body,” he assured.  “C’mon, target two awaits.”

With only the light of their flashlight to see by, the pair carefully dashed through the pitch black of the corridors, relying on the memory of the floor plan to guide them in the right direction.

Five meters and then a left.

Eight meters and a right.

Seven meters and then a left and a quick right.

Ahead they could hear voices shouting to each other, something about _more gas_ and _almost out_.  The teens pressed close to the door, listening to the conversation just beyond.

“There should be two more canisters in the far corner!” a voice they recognized as Ulcel shouted.  “Get it!  Hurry!”

“There are no more canisters anywhere!” a woman shouted back, no doubt that Terry woman from earlier.

“They were there this morning!” Ulcel countered.

“Then talk to your staff about moving your things, because they aren’t there now!”

“Rossi, are they still unconscious?”

“Yes, for now,”

“Monitor them!  The second they wake they’ll be able to escape!”

“They’re in a glass tube each, how can they possibly get out?”

“They can phase through anything.  Some Miraculous expert you’re turning out to be.”

“I know more about the Miraculous than you, obviously!  I was one of those heroes until Ladybug and Chat Noir took it all away from me!”

“You were akumatized, you never had a Miraculous.”

“I was a hero!  And I will be again!  Eric, find those other canisters, I am not losing my chance.”

“Your chance?  If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t even have that chance.  I’m the one who paid a fortune to get these kwami and train you to become bonded with one of them.  All this was never for you, this was to set things right again.  This was all in memory of Marie.”

“Marie, Marie, Marie,” she taunted.  “I really don’t care about your dead wife.  If she had died during an akuma attack, the Miraculous Cure would’ve fixed it and brought her back.  She died from something else, something non-magical.  This won’t bring her back and you know it.”

“It will set things right!”

“No, it won’t.  She’ll still be dead, and I’ll have Ladybug’s powers.  If you think for one second that Ladybug ever could raise the dead, you’re more far gone than I thought.  Frankly, I don’t care what you think.  You will give me what I want or I will personally open these tubes.”

“And lose _your chance_?  Even you’re not that stupid.”

Adrien looked over at Marinette, who returned his look.  Both Ulcel and Lila were insane.  Ulcel was mad with grief, Lila was mad with a desire for…

Revenge? 

Power?

This could make things difficult.  Both teens knew that insanity made people act unpredictably, having dealt with enough akuma victims whose actions were less than defined.

“The Ladybug has the power of creation,” Ulcel countered.  “Her powers can bring her back.  Once you have her powers you will start working on bringing Marie back to me.  What I give you, I can just as easily take away.”

“Sir,” the man, Eric, stated to the scientist.  “The other canisters are not here.  They might be in the other room.”

“Then go get them!” Lila nearly shrieked.

“Won’t get a better chance,” Adrien whispered to his partner.

She nodded to him in agreement.

They took a few steps back from the door, calling to the front the powers of the Ram and the Ox.  They waiting just long enough to start hearing the quick footsteps of two individuals nearing the door, no doubt Terry and Eric, before acting.

They rushed the door, slamming into it with the strength of their Miraculous items.  The hinged popped, the reinforced wooden doors flying into the room to collide with the nearest occupants.  Ulcel ducked behind a piece of nearby equipment, Lila stumbling away to put some distance between herself and the interlopers.

Adrien smiled at their shocked expressions, feeling his former persona rise to the occasion.

“Miss us, Volpina?” he taunted, making the name she once used while akumatized sound like an insult.

The girl blinked.  “What?”

All she saw was the glimpse of ski masks and a pair of green and blue eyes each.  There were no distinguishing features, no face to clearly see.  Nothing of what the room’s dim lighting revealed proved familiar, but the voice…

She knew that voice from somewhere.

“Cover me, Kitty!” another familiar voice called to him.

“You bet, Bugaboo!” he called back, keeping himself strategically placed between her and everyone else in the lab.

Lila knew who they were now. 

That girl’s voice would haunt her until the day she died. 

So much for hoping the loss of their powers would stop them from trying anything. 

And who knew they had easy access to other Miraculous gems.

With a near growl she launched herself at the boy, this Chat Noir with new powers, aiming to get to Ladybug behind him.  She had watched countless hours of footage of his fighting techniques.  With the training she had recently received, she was confident should could at least hold her own, maybe land a blow or two to tear down a few pegs of their confidence. 

If not, she could always bluff him into giving up.

What she hadn’t counted on was this sudden agility and strength he had developed.  His moves were different, more fluid.  His strikes hinted with much more strength, carefully gauged to defend only.  With this strength he could easily outlast anything she could throw at him.

Was this his new Miraculous?

Every kick and punch she threw, he blocked and countered with ease, expending very little effort if any.

Lila tried to keep an eye out for what Ladybug was doing, seeing her approach the cylinders with the kwami, examining them for a release switch or latch to undo.  The girl was looking to free the beings. 

She couldn’t be allowed to do this. 

Lila wanted the powers of the Ladybug. 

She had to be stopped, but Chat Noir wasn’t letting her get close in any way.

Her eyes darted around the shadows in the room.

Ulcel was of no help.  He had hidden himself under a desk, wisely cowering from the wrath of a Miraculous holder determined to get back what was taken.  He knew that given the chance these heroes would drop him off at the nearest police station.  He would lose his credentials, his credibility.  Everything that made him a scientist would be lost, including his vaunted chance to bring his precious _Marie_ back from the dead.

Terry and Eric managed to stumble out from under the destroyed door at this point, eyes adjusting to the dim light to see their colleague fighting one of the intruders while the other was preparing to smash the containment chambers.

“Stop her!” Lila ordered.

A sixth sense made Ladybug turn enough to see the two coming at her. 

A long flute appeared in her hand.  Five clear notes filled the air before a blinding light materialized a wall, bisecting the room between her and the attackers.

Terry and Eric froze, staring at the wall, trying to find a way around it.

“It’s an illusion, you idiots!” Lila shouted, getting away from Chat Noir long enough to swipe at the substance-less wall.

The image fell away to reveal Ladybug taking a hard swipe at all three cylinders, shattering them in one move.

Ulcel could be heard crying out, knowing his chance was gone.

Using the moment to his advantage, Chat Noir rammed into all three of Ulcel’s chosen, bashing them none too gently into a far wall.  The move both knocked the wind from the three, and confused them enough to make them less of a problem for the moment.  Chat Noir raced over to his partner, helping her clear the glass shards away from the kwami.

The three tiny beings wobbled groggily, looking to each other in surprise before looking up to the teens in confusion.

“Ladybug?  Chat Noir?” Nooroo questioned softly.

“Hello, Nooroo,” Chat Noir greeted the timid kwami, a smile in his voice.

“What happened?” Plagg thought to ask.

“Old story.  A scientist was convinced he could transfer your powers to different people,” his Chosen replied.

“Oh… that again.”

“We can take you to the Guardian, Nooroo,” Ladybug added.  “You don’t ever have to go back to Hawk Moth.”

“I… I can stay?” the lavender coloured being wanted to confirm, too used to being lied to.

Ladybug felt her heart break at the sight.  His expression reminded her so much of Adrien’s when he was being offered something and wasn’t sure if it would be suddenly snatched away.  Now she knew of two people who emotionally abused those around them:  Hawk Moth and Gabriel Agreste.

“It was dangerous coming here,” Tikki’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“We have three of the other Miraculous each,” Adrien explained.  “We couldn’t just leave you here with this madman.”

“I am not a madman!” Ulcel cried, carefully creeping out from under the desk.  “I was justified after what you two did!”

Ladybug’s head cocked to one side, confused.  “What exactly is it you think we did?”

“You killed my wife!”

“Not possible,” Tikki countered.  “None of the Miraculous gifts are capable of killing.  And the Miraculous Cure reverses all damages, regardless of what they were.  If someone died, it was by no fault of the Chosen.”

“No!  Marie would have told me if she was sick!  All this was your fault!  Your powers will set it right again, and bring her back!”

“At what price!” Nooroo shouted suddenly, his voice loud and clear in the dark lab.

The butterfly kwami had reached his breaking point.  To have his wielder completely ignore him and the rules surrounding the combining of the Chat Noir and Ladybug powers was one thing.  But to have a man of science completely forego the tenets of science and equivalent exchange, now that was another thing entirely. 

Ulcel blinked, confused.  “Price?”

Nooroo took a deep breath to calm and compose himself.  “A price must be paid in balance to the wish.  If you want to raise her from the dead, who has to die to take her place?  A life for a life.  This has always been the way.  Hawk Moth refuses to understand this, thinks he can control who will be sacrificed for his wish.”

Plagg managed to begin floating again, approaching Ulcel with an accusing glare.  “So who is your price?  What innocent out there are you willing to kill just to get your wife back?”

It was a truth that hung heavy in the room. 

The scientist sat back heavily on his haunches.  He understood this truth, it was universal.  For everything created, something had to be consumed.  In essence, that was what the magical beings were saying.

When something dies, inevitably something was born.

When energy was no longer needed by one object, the object was destroyed, but the energy moved on.

His wife’s body was gone, a year ago now.  Her energy had moved on, her body gone back to a primal state.  Base elements had reformed to create nutrients to feed organisms who grew and multiplied and died and started again.

It was a cycle every scientist knew.

Despite his love for his wife, did he have the right to take someone’s life for his selfish reasons?

Would he know who that life was?

Would it be a friend?

Family?

A stranger?

An old man?

A newborn?

Could it even be him?

The truth was overwhelming.

All this and he had never bothered to think of what the consequences might be.  He realized then, he had let his own grief become his driving factor to push on, to silence the doubt and the reason. 

Ulcel dropped his head.

He had lost.

Ladybug kneeled in front of him, a comforting hand on his shoulder.  This was the same posture she had seen in countless akuma victims.  They felt confused, dejected, a failure.  This she knew how to deal with.

“No one can really blame you for doing this, given the same chances anyone else would have probably gone the same route.  But you really need to talk to a grief counsellor, Professor,” she told him.  “Holding on to these feelings will only hurt you more.  Had you tried to transfer our kwami’s powers, especially the Chat Noir and Ladybug kwami, you would have just destroyed the planet.  They are bound to our Miraculous gems.  Let us leave and go get the help you need.  It’s not too late.”

“Oh, but it is.”

Ladybug was aware of something rushing at Chat Noir just as this one turned to the voice.

The sound that followed would forever haunt her nightmares.

It was halfway between choking and being punched, only somehow more sickening.

Chat Noir’s back was to her, too straight, arms at his sides in some sort of shock.  Lila appeared from in front of him, a gleeful sneer on her face.

“I’m afraid your kitty had to be put down,” she mocked as she gave the boy a shove.

He stumbled as he turned, eyes fixed on the hilt of a knife protruding from his chest, hands raising and falling in confusion.

Ladybug felt her blood run cold as her breath threatened to lock in her throat.

“Adrien!” she cried out.

A desperate arm lashed out at Lila to shove her away, catching her tumbling partner and cradling him in her arms as they both sunk to the floor.

Lila stared, surprised shock invading her senses.

Ladybug had cried out Chat Noir’s name, his real name, and it was the same name as Paris’ _Golden Boy_ and her prospect.

No, it couldn’t be him.

The world would be too cruel if it was him.

She watched as the hero pulled off the ski mask covering the gasping boy’s face, hoping beyond hope it wasn’t who she dreaded it was.

Lila’s knees gave out beneath her.

It was him.

Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir… and she had killed him.

Somewhere behind her she heard Eric mutter something about not wanting to be pegged for murder and Terry reply that if they stayed, they would be complicit.  The back of Lila’s mind registered their words, knowing it meant they would slink away and disappear. 

But she couldn’t bring herself to react, to chastise. 

She was frozen where she was. 

The scene unfolding before her had her full attention.

But a new surprise awaited when Ladybug tore off her mask.

The bottom fell out of Lila’s stomach.

Ladybug was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She shut down then, unable to process anything more. 

She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak or think.

It was too much.

Marinette held Adrien close, hand hovering over the knife’s hilt for a moment before deciding that pulling it out was far worse than leaving it where it was.

But it pained her so much, as if she herself had been stabbed, to see it there, to see the sheer of blood soaking his clothing.

To see him gasping so desperately for every breath, his hands clawing at her arms.

She mildly registered the six kwami from the items they had used releasing from their gems and hovering around them in worry, joined by the three they had just freed.

Tears burned her eyes and wet her cheeks, unstoppable.

Green eyes locked with her blue, his trembling fingers tracing the salty liquid trails on her skin.

“I’m sorry, My Lady,” he gulped.

“No, Kitty,” she wailed softly. 

“Shh, Princess…”

Her grief doubled. 

He was the injured one, yet he was trying to comfort her. 

Marinette felt her breath threaten to lock in her throat when he offered a shaky lopsided smile. 

“You promised we’d grow old together,” she argued, knowing it was futile.  “Please…”

His shaky smile was remorseful.  “The only promise to you… that I will ever break…”

His breathing was becoming more laboured.

It seemed to be a supreme effort to just hold his hand up and brush it against her lips.

“My only… real regret… is we never… kissed…”

Marinette felt her heart break. 

She could almost see the light in his eyes growing dimmer by the second.

“Adrien…” she called in a breath, hoping to be his anchor for just a little longer.

“… I’m sorry…”

“Please…”

She felt his muscles coil, drawing all his remaining strength together for one final effort.

“… I love… you… Mari—”

His limbs went slack as his breath hisses from his lungs, dilating eyes no longer seeing.

Marinette’s world shattered in slow motion, every fiber of her heart tearing apart filament by torturous filament.

And she cried out her despair, long and loud.

She curled around the boy’s limp body, rocking on herself, knowing he was gone but still hoping he would come back to her by some miracle.

But it never happened.

He was gone.

She didn’t want to let him go.

“Marinette,” a tiny voice called to her ever so gently.

The girl forced herself to look up, seeing the group of kwami hovering before her. 

Nooroo approached first, tiny paws carefully closing the boy’s eyes in respect.  The Butterfly kwami nuzzled his cheek, keening almost quietly.

“I wish I had known you better, Chat Noir, instead of always from a distance,” she heard the tiny being murmur.

Tikki and Plagg shared a look, a silent conversation passing between them and a decision was agreed upon.  The black cat kwami drifted down towards Adrien’s hand, taking a moment to offer one last affectionate rub before slipping off the silver signet ring.  Without a word, the tiny god moved to Marinette’s hand and slipped the items onto her finger. 

She blinked at him through her tears, eyes flicking from him to the ring and finally to Tikki.

The red kwami smiled as only a mother could to a devastated child.

“Use them, Marinette,” she counselled gently.  “Use both the Chat Noir and Ladybug Miraculous together.”

The girl sniffed, grief and surprise fighting for dominance.  “The price…” she managed to croak in a bare whisper.

The God of Creation smiled down sadly at the dead hero in her Chosen’s arms.  “If you choose carefully, for this, I think, the price is worth paying.”

She stared at her for the longest time.  “You know…?”

She nodded slowly.  “I know the price, because I know what you would choose, Marinette.  It will erase this entire timeline.  None of it will have happened.  You will remember.  The kwami present here will remember.  But no one else ever will.  Not even Adrien.”

Marinette looked down at Adrien’s still features, carefully smoothing a hand over his cooling cheek.  If it wasn’t for the weapon still imbedded in his chest, she could have almost mistaken him to be asleep, that he would wake up at any moment.

A useless thought, futile.

“But, he’ll be alive?”

“He’ll be alive,” Tikki confirmed.  “But he won’t remember anything of your time together leading to now.  It will have never happened.”

The girl finally raised her eyes to the magical entities before her.

“What must I do?”

“Transform,” Plagg stated simply.  “The knowledge will come to you then on what to do next.”

Blue eyes returned to Adrien’s face, to the eternal stillness of his features.  Letting him go felt like her heart was being ripped out.  Carefully she eased him to the floor as if she were laying him to bed, supporting his head and arranging his arms at his sides.

A sob threatened in her throat.  Leaning over him she pressed her lips to his. 

They were already cold.

Fighting a losing battle with her tears, Marinette got to her feet, wobbling on unsteady limbs.

Her eyes closed as she struggled with a steadying breath.

“Transform me,” she mumbled to the room.

The surge or power was so far different and stronger than she had ever felt from her own transformation as just Ladybug.  Not only could she feel the full force of creation that was her power, she also felt the complete infusion of destructive energy possessed by Chat Noir.

She never understood before, never realized the careful control both Chat Noir and Plagg exerted on this power. 

It was raw.

It was dark.

It was cold.

It was a perfect balance to the pure white heat she felt from her own Miraculous.

The sensation was liberating, as if all cares were suddenly gone. 

All fears were a far distant memory. 

All there was left was a keep awareness of the Universe. 

Knowing when a life was created and when a life was extinguished, all at once.

She could feel stars sparking to life in the depths of distant nebulae.

And she could feel the moment a star was snuffed out in a spectacular explosion.

Opening her eyes, the room seemed to glow.  It took her a moment to realize that she was the one glowing and lighting the lab.

Her gaze drifted to Lila and Ulcel. 

What was that shared expression? 

Awe? 

Fear?

Did it matter?

Her eyes flickered down the body at her feet and her heart squeezed painfully.

Oh…

The realization returned to her of why she had these powers. 

All this was to reverse this one event, to bring her love back to life.

How would she do this?

To wish his life back would kill someone else. 

Hadn’t this the argument that had earlier discouraged Ulcel from acting?

She couldn’t just turn back the clock, everything would still occur as it had, even if their memories of these events were kept intact. 

Time was immutable.

No, something very specific had to change in the past.

Something that had set everything into motion.

She couldn’t bring back Ulcel’s Marie, the results would be the same as granting Adrien his life back. 

A life for a life.

But Ulcel was the key.

Something he did, something he knew…

Yes, something he knew!

That was the answer.

“Erase a thought,” she spoke in an otherworldly voice, a clear conclusion in her tone.

Glowing eyes closed, all her being focusing on one single action. 

Her breath seemed to fill the entire room, the very air charging and crackling as energies coalesced into one act.

“A moment, a wish, a turn of the clock.  Give back what was given.  Take back what was not.”

And the Universe blinked once to black.


	5. Chapter 5

Marinette chocked on her gasp as she sat bolt upright in her bed.

She panted almost desperately, her heart racing, eyes staring straight ahead as she tried to make sense of her thoughts.

Her mind’s eye showed her images of raiding Ulcel’s lab.

Of darkness.

Of death.

Adrien had died, in her arms.

But she was in her room now.

How had she gotten back?

“Take a deep breath, Marinette,” Tikki’s gentle voice counselled as she floated into view.

Blue eyes whipped around to fix the floating red being in surprise.  “Tikki?”

“It’s okay now.  Everything is back to the way it was.”

“The… the way it was?”

Tikki smiled gently.  “Ulcel has forgotten about kwami; Plagg, Nooroo and I are back with our Miraculous Holders; and Adrien is alive.”

“Adrien… he’s Chat Noir.”

The little god nodded.  “You remember…?”

Tears began to burn her eyes.  “Everything!”

“Breathe, Marinette,” Tikki soothed.  “In this timeline, none of it happened.  You remember it, but for those here, it never happened.”

“Never happened…”

“That’s right.”

“The entire week…”

“It passed, but not like what you remember.”

She silently reached for her phone and checked her messages.  There were conversations she didn’t remember having with Alya and her class’s chat group, but none of the texts she remembered having with Adrien.

In fact, he hadn’t been active online with her all week by the looks of it.

Her heart sank.

“We spent so much time together…” she whispered to herself.  “All gone now.”

“But he’s alive,” Tikki countered.  “Which means you have a second chance to start again.”

Marinette let her arm drop heavily.  “It was easier in the other timeline.  We knew about our other selves.”  Her eyes screwed shut tight and she shook her head.  “I can’t do this again, Tikki.”  She took a deep breath, sad eyes staring at nothing.  “I had a week.  It’ll have to be enough.”

“Marinette…”

“I can’t, Tikki.  I just… I can’t.”

The kwami remained silent, watching her Chosen climb off her loft bed to get dressed for the day.  She would have to get in touch with Plagg somehow and explain to him what was going on.

Time and memories had been rolled back this way only four times before this since the creation of the Miraculous gems, and each time had been relatively the same.  The wielder who remained shut out the memories, tried to integrate into the new timeline by forgetting what had transpired to bring about this new world.

It worked… for a while.

Sometimes it was years.

Sometimes is was months.

But eventually the four past Chosen had self-destruct.

Two had been Plagg’s kittens.

Two had been her bugs.

None had been able to adapt to the change.

It had left a void in their hearts that had just been too huge to even fill again with the new life promised.  And, with Marinette being such an emotional sort who wore her heart on her sleeve, Tikki knew she most likely would be no different than all the others.

As much as it pained her, Tikki knew she could do nothing.

So, she watched, offering silent encouragements as the weekend hours ticked away.

She watched as Marinette put on a brave face to her parents and worked in the bakery.

She watched as the girl faked her way through video chats with the girls from her class.

But Tikki knew.

She could see the hint of tears ghosting the girl’s eyes and the light trembling of her Chosen’s bottom lip when she thought no one was watching.

As the weekend drew to a close, the little God of Creation actually began to dread the coming of Monday and the school day to come.  Being away from her friends, from Adrien, had been easy over the weekend.  The girl could stay in her home, in her room and just avoid everyone.  And she didn’t have to go out on patrol either, avoiding Adrien’s alter ego for just a little longer.

But that would no longer be possible on Monday.

Tikki knew that by end of day, all bets would be off.

The kwami was worried as she watched the girl sleep, unable and unwilling to take her eyes away from her charge.  A shadow momentarily blocked out the moonlight through the skylight.  When Tikki looked up, all she saw was a cloud moving over the moon.

Part of her had wished to see a flash of green feline eyes.

Wishful thinking.

When Monday finally came, Marinette forced hope into her own heart as she dressed for the day.  She dreaded going to school, seeing all those who didn’t remember the last week as she did, Adrien who didn’t remember anything about her from the last week.

She knew he was Chat Noir, her partner and best friend, but she couldn’t say a word to him about it.  It would be too dangerous for him with Hawk Moth still around.

And it hurt her heart so much.

She sucked in a hard breath, gathered up her school bag, and descended to the kitchen for breakfast.  She vaguely registered her Mother going on about the chores of the day, what Marinette would be needed for when she got home at the end of the school day.  There was a large order of pastries needed the next morning for one of the embassies in the city.  She would be needed to help decorate the treats to have them ready on time.

Marinette agreed to help, not feeling the usual zeal that accompanied the prospect of such work.

Hidden in her purse, Tikki saw the look of worry cross Sabine’s features.  A mother always knew something was wrong.

But before she could question, Marinette bade her goodbye and left for school.

Alya greeted her on the school’s front steps when she approached, her expression immediately changing to concern at something she saw in the baker’s girl.

“Are you okay?”

Marinette waved her off with a forced smile.  “I’m fine, just had a rough night.”

“That looks like more than _just_ a rough night.”

“Rough weekend then.  But I’m okay.”

Ayla didn’t look fully convinced.  “If you’re sure…” and then she waved brightly to someone behind her friend.

The hidden hero turned to see Nino standing with Adrien, and suddenly something stabbed her heart. 

The Agreste teen had been delivered to school as usual by his driver and bodyguard.  His best friend, Nino, had greeted him at the curb, both boys laughing at something one of them shared.

It all felt so normal, as if nothing had happened.

But for them, nothing _had_ happened.

The boys waved at them and Marinette forced another smile, waving back.  They made a move to join them and she felt the knife in her heart twist by a degree.

She wasn’t ready, not yet.

Not after the last week...

“I’ll see you in class,” she excused herself to Alya before the boys could get too close.

She was gone before Alya could stop her.  Nino and Adrien stared after the girl, both easily noting the slump in her shoulders.

“Is she okay?” Nino questioned his girlfriend.

“She says she is, but I’m not so sure.  I’m thinking something happened over the weekend.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, yet, but I’ll get it out of her.”

Adrien had continued to stare after Marinette, worry in his eyes.  “Go easy on her, Alya,” he warned gently, finally turning to his friends.  “You can be a little… intense, when you’re digging for information.”

“I am not intense,” she pouted.

Nino chuckled.  “Babe, you could intimidate the Hulk into backing down when you start.  Adrien is right though.”

“So, the gentle touch?”

“If you can manage it,” the DJ smiled.

The three entered the classroom, noting Marinette’s eyes fixed on her tablet with just a little too much intensity.  It was as if she didn’t want anyone to talk to her, to appear busy so she could be left alone.  The friends looked to each other, trying to figure out a next course of action. 

Nino resigned himself to that fact that if his long-time classmate and friend wanted to be left alone, he would respect that.  As a result, he merely shrugged to his friends and took his seat.

Alya took her seat next to Marinette, worried eyes pleading for her to turn and talk to her, explain what was going on.  But the girl ignored the look, keeping her blue eyes fixed on the same page on her tablet.

Adrien stood next to his seat for a few moments more, studying the teen and her reactions up until now.

To Alya, it seemed as if he wanted to say something to the girl.  But as soon as the expression flitted across his face, it was gone.  He heaved a quiet sigh before taking his seat.  This made the aspiring reporter internally question. 

Was there something going on here she didn’t know?

Did something happen between her and Adrien?

Was this the reason for her dejected aura, he had rejected her?

Marinette told her everything, eventually, so she would just have to be gently persistent.

But Alya was quick to learn, gently persistent was not something she knew how to do.

Soft elbow nudges throughout the class were glared at and summarily ignored by the baker’s girl.

Texts sent to her phone were also ignored or deleted. 

The one time it wasn’t was after a series of insistent questions, to which Marinette merely texted back, _drop it!_

Alya couldn’t drop it.

There was something going on that had shut down Marinette’s usually bubbly demeanor.  From what little she had observed, it seemed to involve Adrien in some way.

Possibly it also involved Lila Rossi.

That girl had returned to class that morning, all smiles and happy greetings to her fellow students.  She had turned on the serious charm when she had neared Adrien’s desk, offering a cute and demure good morning to the boy.

Alya had smirked at that, hoping that would at least get a reaction out of Marinette.

She was all the more confused when it didn’t.

As for Adrien, his body language spoke volumes.  He had turned himself away from her, albeit just slightly, a slight frown on his face and he didn’t return the greeting.

The dejected expression of shock on the Lila’s face was interesting to say the least.

From that, Césaire could infer that the Rossi girl was involved to some degree in whatever drama Marinette had wrapped herself in.

As the day wore on, the girl become more and more determined and a little desperate to figure out what had happened, watching her friend sink deeper into depression with each passing minute, seeing their model friend cast worried glances at her when he thought no one was watching. 

Alya roped in the rest of her classmates to try to get the information out of her friend.

Marinette merely forced a smile to each and waved away their concern, never answering their questions.

Even Chloé, in her usual brash and tactless manner, tried to get the girl to talk.

Even she was shut down in the same way as the others.

So Alya turned her attention to Rossi, but that proved to be a dead end.  Lila was a bit more defensive than she had needed to be in denying she was any cause to the baker girl’s current mood.  Something about the flash of anger in the Italian’s eye made Alya bristle.

Lunch brought a new level of worry.

Marinette had sequestered herself at a back table of the cafeteria, purposefully waiting until all her friends had taken a seat before finding a table to herself.  Her eyes fixed on her tray, she didn’t even notice when Lila tried to sit next to Adrien at his table.  She also missed how Adrien physically moved away from the Rossi girl, putting as much distance as he could from her without leaving the table and his friends.  And when Lila tried to move closer, he suddenly excused himself from the table and left, but not before Alya saw him cast an almost forlorn glance towards Marinette.

Alya felt sorry for Adrien too during the day, watching him dodge both Chloé’s usual attention, and Lila’s overt attempts to insert herself into his daily life. 

Thinking about it, he seemed different today as well.

The Sunshine Child was not shining as brightly as usual.

Further solidifying Alya’s belief that he was somehow involved with the current depression Marinette was suffering from.

So, when classes finally let out for the day, she cornered Adrien near one of the stairways with Nino.  Adrien actually cowered under her glare.

“Alright, Blondie,” Alya demanded.  “What gives?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’ve been watching you all day.  Something happened this past weekend.  Now spill!”

“I swear, Alya, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he denied.

“You, Mari, and Lila.  Something happened between you three and I want to know what.”

“What?  Nothing happened, I have no idea what gave you that idea.”

“Please!  Lila is hanging off you like leech and you’re actually giving her the cold shoulder.  You’re too much of a cream puff to pull something like that unless you have a reason, so…”

“She lies, okay!” he snapped, suddenly frustrated.  “I’m tired of it and her attempts to impress me with them when I know the truth.  I reached my breaking point.”

Alya and Nino began to blink at his admission. 

Marinette had voiced the same thing so many times before, but they had chalked it up to jealousy since the Rossi girl was so obviously interested in Adrien. 

But now Adrien was also confirming that Lila lied.

“She… lied?” Nino began.  “About what?”

Adrien shrugged.  “So far, everything.  She doesn’t know Ladybug or Jagged Stone or Prince Ali or anyone else who’s famous for that matter; she doesn’t have tinnitus or arthritis or any other medical issue; and, she’s been in Paris since the first Volpina incident a while back.”

Alya looked like she had been punched in the gut.  “How… how can you be so sure?”

“Um… Ladybug and Chat Noir.  I mean, the number of times they pulled me out of dangerous situations…  We do talk from time to time and they did say that neither of them knew who Lila was until she was akumatized: the first time as Volpina; then during Heroes’ Day; and, the last time she became Chameleon.  Ladybug even called her out on it once, right in front of me.”

The girl buried her face in her hands with a groan.  “God, I owe Mari such an apology.  I thought…”  Her head snapped up as she quickly pulled out her phone, tapping in quick commands.  “I just took down every single one of Lila’s interviews and blocked her posts.  I might just post a more detailed explanation tonight.”

Adrien shook his head at her.  “I’m a little surprised all of you, especially you, Alya, believed her over Marinette so readily.  You?  Not fact check when you so want to be a journalist?  Really?”

“Okay, okay, I get it, we goofed and I fucked up.  But what about you and Mari?”

It was the blonde’s turn to blink.  “Sorry?”

Nino clicked his tongue.  “Dude, Mari is one of the deepest blue funks any of us have ever seen and that started this morning.”

“Right after she saw you,” added Alya.

“Right, so what gives?  What did you tell the dudette?”

“We… we didn’t talk all weekend.”

“At all?”

“Not a peep or a text, I swear.  Where is she anyway?  I didn’t see her leave yet.”

Alya heaved a heavy sigh, casting a look over her shoulder.  “She’s still in the locker room.  Said she needed some alone time for a bit before heading home.”

“Dudette probably doesn’t want her parents to see her down so she’s trying to muster that brave face of hers,” Nino supplied.  “Honestly, I don’t know how she does it half the time.  Putting up with Chloé shit all these years and now dealing with Lila always up in her space…”  He looked to the model, an air of receiving an epiphany settling on his features.  “Bro, you should totally go talk to her right now.”

“What?”

Alya perked up at that suggestion.  “Definitely!  I mean, you both are kind of in a funk today, so maybe talking to each other about it would help you both get out of it.”

“Besides, Bro, I think you’re the only one left in the class who hasn’t tried to figure out what has our baker girl so down.  Well, except Lila, but she doesn’t count anymore.”                             

“Wow, ouch, Nino,” Alya chuckled.

He offered a quick smirk in response.  “What I mean is… well… you have this knack of getting people to talk to you and it’s pretty obvious that she needs to talk even if she says she doesn’t want to.”

Alya stance became pleading.  “Please, Adrien?  A depressed Mari really scares me.  I have no idea what she might be capable of in this state.”

“You’re her best friend, though,” Adrien countered.

“Yes, but I’ve pestered her about this so much today that now she’s not talking to me.  Please?”

He was going to try to protest, telling Alya no wasn’t too hard for him regardless of how doe-eyed she became, but when Nino turned on his own puppy-dog eyes to bolster his girlfriend’s pleading, Adrien felt his own shoulders sag in defeat.

This is not how he had wanted this to go.

He sighed.  “I’ll talk to her, but don’t get your hopes up.”

A tiny smirked tugged the corners of Alya lips.  “I’m sure she’ll be very happy you came to check on her.”

Shaking his head at his friends Adrien headed towards the locker room.

Immediately passed the door was empty, but he could clearly hear someone trying to keep their sobs quiet.  It cause him to pause, his heart breaking at the sound, feeling guilty at hearing her hiccup out her pain.

“I-I th-thought I c-could d-do this… I… I… I c-can’t!  It… It’s t-too ha-hard… I s-see him and… and… everyth-thing is b-back t-to how it… it was…  It ne-never ha-happened…  He… he doesn’t re-remember… and... and… it hurts so much!”

Plagg flew out of his shirt pocket at the sound of her wail, actual distress on his feline features.  “Poor kid,” he lamented, a knowing tone to his voice.

“I should have texted her over the weekend.  I should have told her…”

The small god blinked at his Chosen at that, his curiosity piqued.  “Told her what?” 

When Adrien hesitated, Plagg flew to hover before his face, examining him with a deep attention.  Glowing green eyes flashed in a mix of shock and surprise.

“You remember… don’t you?”

The boy absently rubbed at one of his ribs, Plagg noting that this was the same place he had been stabbed in the other timeline.

“You’re not supposed to remember,” the God of Destruction continued, more to himself.  “Only the one making the wish remembers these things.  That’s always how is was the other four times.  You can’t remember…”  He paused, looking to the boy.  “What do you remember?”

Adrien collected his thoughts silently for a moment.  “Ulcel…  You, Nooroo and Tikki were taken by him because he was planning on merging your powers with other so-called heroes…  We went to the lab to get you out and Lila stabbed me just as we were going to leave…  I died…”

Plagg frowned slightly.  “What else?”

With a slight hesitation, “Marinette is Ladybug.”

“This isn’t possible…” 

Plagg looked towards where the girl was still sobbing, as if he was coming to a decision, and then darted in that direction before he could be stopped.  He hovered at the edge of the last lockers.  Marinette was curled in on herself, seated on the ground with her face buried in her arms resting on her knees.  Her kwami, Tikki, floated before her silently, at a loss for comforting words, but hoping her presence alone was enough to support her charge. 

As if sensing her counterpart, the red being turned in his direction.  Plagg motioned her over.  When she neared him, she noticed Adrien standing off to the side.

“Plagg, what are you doing?” she hissed in admonition.

“He remembers.”

“That’s not possible.”

“That’s what I thought too, but he remembers everything that happened in the other timeline.  No prompting.”

Tikki looked to the boy skeptically.  “You really remember?”

“Every last second, Tikki.”

She blinked, turning sharply to the other kwami.

“I never told him your name, Tik.  This is all him.”

Her tiny jaw dropped.  “This is impossible,” and then at the sob she heard from her charge, “But the timing couldn’t be better.”  The kwami glided over to Adrien.  “All weekend Marinette has put on a brave face to everyone, trying to act normal.  She’s been slowing cracking during that time, and now here at school…”

“Why is it both of you are saying I shouldn’t be able to remember any of it?” Adrien questioned.

“The last four times we had to change the timeline, aside from the kwami, only the one who made the wish ever remembered.  His or her partner became oblivious to everything that happened before, caught in the change like everyone else.  In all those times, you are the first who has ever remembered.”  She drifted closer.  “All the others self-destruct from being the only one to remember the other timeline, from being alone and isolated in their knowledge of what was.  Marinette has always been such a sensitive soul.  She is starting to break.”

Adrien straightened at that in worry, facing where Marinette was still crying.

He couldn’t let her sink deeper into this depression. 

He had just found her in that other timeline, he couldn’t lose her in this one.

Resolved in his decision, Adrien took a step out from around the lockers. 

His heart broke at the slight of his partner curled in around herself as she sat on the floor, her once uncontrollable sobs down to tired heaves.

Then his broken heart shattered completely when she raised her head, having felt someone was there.  Her eyes and nose were red from having cried so hard, her bottom lip trembling from a fresh wave of tears threatening to erupt.

At the sight of him, Marinette leapt to her feet, taking quick angry swipes at her eyes.

“Alya didn’t need to send you in here, I’m fine,” she told him, voice wavering despite her best attempts.

“You don’t look fine.”

“I am, though.  I just…  I needed a moment…”  She reached for her bag, shoving a few items that had fallen out back in.  “I’m okay,” she repeated, though he felt it was more for herself than for him.  “So, I’ll just be going home now,” and she made a move to step around him.

But he blocked her path, holing his hands up in a restraining motion.

“Not until you talk to me, Bugaboo.”

She froze, bag dropping to the ground, and for the first time that day she met his gaze.

How many times was his heart going to shatter? 

The look she was giving him was as if she was being given the cure to end all pain.

He saw her eyes flicker to something over his shoulder, no doubt their kwami floating together just behind him, before returning to his.  She looked so fragile then, as if hanging on his next sentence that could either kill or save her.

Marinette took one tentative step towards him.

Then another.

And another.

Until she finally stood within reach.  All the while studying his face.

“You… you remember…?”

He offered her what he hoped was his gentlest and most reassuring smile.

“Every single second we spent together in the week that now… no longer happened.”

And her tears returned as a small smile broke across her lips.  She crashed into him, arms wound tight around his neck as she buried her face into the crook of his shoulder.  Adrien crushed her close, physically lifting her off her feet, breathing in deep the scent of the bakery that clung to her skin from the base of her neck.

How to describe the feeling at that moment?

Holding her, having her hold him, felt like home.  Every chill, every lonely night, was but a distant memory now that he had her in his arms again.

At the same time he was more than acutely aware of her crying, wanting nothing more than to take her away from the world and protect her.  To make sure nothing and no one would ever make her cry again.  Impossible, he knew that, so he just held her as tight as he dared.

He just held her this way for long minutes, waiting for her sobbing hiccups to subside.

He sighed softly, breath warm against her skin, as he set her back on her feet.  “I missed holding you so much,” he whispered.  “The weekend was so cold without you.”

Marinette pulled back just enough to press her forehead to his, light fingers against his cheeks.  “I thought you forgot about me,” she breathed, her eyes closed.

“Never, My Lady.  I promised you we would grow old together.  I have a second chance to keep that promise.”

This won a tiny chuckle from her, albeit a weak one.

“Do you want to talk now?  Get it all out?”

After a brief pause, she nodded.  Sitting on one of the nearby benches, he kept an arm wrapped around her waist to cuddle her against his side, letting her play with the fingers of his other hand she held on her lap.

She told him about waking up that Saturday morning and realizing all of time had been re-set. 

He voiced that he, too, had woken in his room, knowing full well he should have been dead.

She told him how her heart had cracked when Tikki had affirmed he would not remember any of the last week. 

He told her he wasn’t sure what to do, afraid to ask Plagg what had happened and even more terrified he would scare her away if he tried to call her with his questions.

Marinette voiced how painful the weekend had been, forcing herself to be strong and plough through as if nothing had happened as she remembered it. 

Adrien admitted his only thought was to call or text her, but his schedule had been so charged he never got a moment to even try.

She told him how much it hurt to see him that morning, thinking he didn’t know.

He told her how hollow he felt when he saw her walk away that morning, and when she wouldn’t talk or even look at him.

“You felt so far away,” he admitted softly.

“I thought you _were_ far away.  After last week, I couldn’t bare it anymore.”

“I should’ve tried harder to talk to you.”

She shook her head slowly.  “Tikki kept telling me you couldn’t remember.  Seeing you trying to get close…”  She heaved a heavy sigh.  “I’m sorry, Kitty.”

“No need to apologize, Purr-rincess.  We’re both in new territory.  We’ll need to talk about this a lot more, but right now I think Alya is about to storm in here in worry.”

Marinette hunched her shoulders with a small wince.  “Was I really that bad?”

“She said, and I quote, _a depressed Mari really scares me.  I have no idea what she might be capable of in this state_.”

She looked down at her knees.  “Not very Ladybug of me.”

“No.”  Adrien crooked a finger under her chin to force her to look at him again.  “But you had a valid reason, My Lady.”

A small smile tugged at her lips.  “That reason is gone now.”

“Good,” he smiled in return.  “My Lady needs to shine in the Sun, never wallow in the shadows.”

The smile morphed into a smirk and Adrien felt his heart swell at the playful glint he caught in her eye.

“I thought you were Paris’ _Sunshine Boy_?”

He returned her smirk.  “Paris now has a _Sunshine Girl_ as well.  We’re the _Sunshine Couple_.”

She raised an eyebrow.  “ _Sunshine Couple_?”

“Glimmering Duo?”

He could see her trying to fight her smile from breaking into a laugh.

“Scintillating Pair?”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, one he knew meant she was trying really hard not to laugh.

“Glowing Twosome?”

Her hands covered her mouth, hoping to stifle the near quiet snort.  His own smile grew in response.

“Radiant Duet?”

He felt her start to shake as the laugh started to get the better of her. 

“No?  How about Brilliant Brace?” he pressed playfully.

“Oh, enough, Kitty!” she finally laughed.

He loved to hear her laugh, the sound always clear and bright, a genuine twinkle of mirth reaching her eyes.  It was a real laugh.

“Seriously, those were just awful,” she struggled to say.

“Don’t you mean _paw-_ ful, Purr-rincess?”

She laughed again and his heart soared.

“God, you and those puns.”

“You love them and you know it,” he accused lightly.  She merely rested her cheek to his shoulder for the moment.  “Better?”

“Better,” she agreed.

“Ready to face Alya?”

She snorted.  “No one is ready to face Alya, but, yeah, I guess we should get out there now.”

They stood, but as she made a move to go retrieve her bag, she felt him tug at her hand to get her to turn and face him.  Confused, she watched him hold her hands between them, eyes fixed on them, looking as if he was coming to a decision of sorts.

“Adrien?”

“In the other timeline, I said I had one regret.”  Green locked on blue.  “I won’t risk that in this timeline.”

Marinette squeaked in surprise when he abruptly surged forward, lips meshing to hers.  At first shocked, she just as quickly melted into the embrace.  Her hands found their way into his hair, carding through the soft locks. 

Adrien took that as a tacit invitation to deepen the embrace, to lightly lick at her lip in coaxing, to hold her closer.  A low purr began in his throat, rumbling through his chest to her.  Her lips parted in a quiet sigh and he surged forward.  She was so warm, so pliable in his arms, willingly surrendering yet equally demanding.  After what felt like an eternity, they pulled apart, lips continuing to brush as panting breaths mingled.

“Wow,” came her breathy whisper, clinging to him since she didn’t quite trust her cotton-like legs at that moment.

He chuckled softly in response.

A clearing of a tiny throat broke through the haze, both looking off to the side to find their kwami grinning at them.

“Not to break up this disgustingly romantic moment,” Plagg began, receiving a warning nudge from Tikki.  “But you still have friends waiting for you outside who are probably getting really close to coming in here at any moment now.”

Adrien heaved a small sigh.  “Much as I hate to admit it, Plagg’s right.”

Marinette leaned her forehead to his.  “Yeah, guess so.”  Then after a moment’s pause, “We still need to talk about all this some more.”

“We should go to Master Fu,” Tikki suggested.  “This is new to us too, but maybe he has some scrolls or books that might help explain everything.”

“We’ll go after school tomorrow.  Today has just been too much of a roller coaster for more surprises, good or bad.”

He felt a sense of loss when she moved away a bit to retrieve her bag, immediately pulling her back against his side when she was near again.

“You were too far away,” he responded to her questioning expression.

Her eyes softened with a small smile, nestling herself more comfortably against him with her arms around his chest, much to his delight.

*   *   *

Lila Rossi shifted her bag on her shoulder, watching the Césaire girl and Lahiffe boy talking to each other near the school’s main entrance.

What were they still doing here?

All of their other classmates were gone for the day and there were no extra-curricular activities that were going to start for the evening.

So what were they waiting for?

It was part of her process to wrap people around her little finger:  Knowing everything that was going on around her.  If they were still here, it meant there was something going on.  She didn’t know what that something was, but she would soon find out.

She would just turn on the innocent charm and wiggle the reason out of them.  From there, it would no doubt be very simple to incorporate whatever it was they were doing into one of her fanciful tales. 

And it would divert their attention as to why she was still at the school as well.  There was no way she would tell anyone the truth about that, about how she had gotten called into the Principal’s office when he quietly caught her lying to faculty.

She would have to find out how he had discovered she had lied to her parents in order to stay home the last few months.

She straightened her shoulders and walked over to them as casually as she could, mentally preparing the lie she would rope them into.

“Oh, Nino, Alya, you’re still here?” she greeted brightly.  “I thought I was the last one left to leave.  Mister Damocles wanted to know more about my travels and I guess time slipped by us.”

Usually a nonchalant mention of her glamourous made-up life was enough to enamour people into peppering her with questions or fawning over her supposed luck. 

What usually didn’t happen was people suddenly glaring at her. 

But her reactions had been honed over her many years of creative story-telling.  She put on her most innocent air, a hand to her heart for added effect.

“Did I say something wrong?” she feigned.

“Save it, Rossi,” Alya responded tersely.  “Your little act won’t work anymore.”

Inside, Lila bristled.  Outside, her mask never dropped.

“Act?”  She laughed slightly.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” added Nino.  “You’ve been lying to us since day one.”

She faked insulted shock.  “Me?  Lie?”

“Oh, drop the _Little Miss Innocent_ routine!” Alya snapped.  “We know, okay?  You don’t know Jagged Stone, you don’t know Prince Ali, you were never in Achu, and you’re not best friends with Ladybug.  All lies.”

The scowled dropped over Lila’s features before she could stop it at the mention of her nemesis.  “Did Ladybug tell you all this?” she demanded, fury in her voice.

Nino blinked in surprise at the sudden change in her, but was more annoyed knowing her antics now to care about it.  “No, my boy Adrien did.”

Lila pressed a hand to her heart in mock shock.  “Adrien?”

“Why do you think he was giving you to cold shoulder all day?” Alya continued.  “The boy is a lot more intelligent than you give him credit for.  He’s had enough of hearing your taller-than-tall tales.  He’s just too good to tell you to fuck off to your face.”

Lila seemed to regain her composure.  “No, Adrien doesn’t hate me,” she began confidently.  “Why, we were just planning our date this weekend in our last class together.  He told me he’s very interested in knowing me more than just a classmate.”

Nino snorted in derision.  “I highly doubt that.  He made it very clear to us he wasn’t interested in you in the slightest.”

Lila smiled a small laugh, her insides twisting at hearing that Adrien wouldn’t be so easy to get as she had original planned. 

“That was actually his idea, to act as if we weren’t dating.  He’s so sweet, he doesn’t want to get me involved in any mess with the paparazzi if ever they learned of us being together.  He also said he doesn’t want Chloé to come after me either if ever she found out since she is so possessive of him.”

“Smooth, Rossi,” Alya accused.  “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

She laughed.  “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Nino looked to something behind the girl, an evil grin turning up the corners of his lips.  “Well, _Miss-I-Don’t-Lie_ , we’re about to bust that last lie of yours about dating my Bro wide open.”

Alya finally saw what he had seen and also smirked dangerously.  “We’ll just ask him directly what the truth is, though by the looks of things, I’m thinking he’s clearly dating someone else.”

Lila blinked at that.  “What?” and she whirled around.

Across the inner courtyard was the subject of their conversation, his arm wrapped around Marinette’s shoulders to keep her tucked against his side as they walked.  Soft eyes were focused solely on the girl at his side, a tender smile on his lips.  Her arms were wound around him, a blissful smile adding to the faint blush on her cheeks.  Her eyes were closed, in complete trust that he would steer her in the right direction.

“That does not look like he’s dating you, or even about to,” Alya smirked triumphantly.

Lila felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.

_No, no, no…_

As they watched the pair draw near they were witness to Adrien curling his arm to tug Marinette a little closer, laying a tender kiss to her forehead.  Her smile grew in response.

Nino chuckled at the sight.  “Looks like my Bro finally noticed our girl Marinette.”

Lila could only gape for a moment before starting to splutter silently in denial.

This was not part of the plan. 

It hadn’t even been a consideration. 

She had carefully researched everyone in the school, especially those she wanted to strategically get closer to.  The research on the Agreste teen had been very clear, if not light:  Due to home-schooling, he was a little oblivious to anyone being subtle about their interest in him.  There were enough articles from models or others from high society to that fact.  One article she had found spoke of one model being absolutely sure he was interested in her by how kind and pleasant he had been with her, only to have that story retracted by the Agreste legal team.  They had made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that Adrien had never considered her as more than a colleague.

Much like he considered his classmates as just friends.

She had planned everything out.  A few obvious hints here and there, some casual touching to get him used to having her around and in close proximity, a well-placed suggestion that he couldn’t refuse…

He would have become hers by the end of the month by her timeline of events.

But this?

And with Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

The only girl who somehow could see through her tall tales. 

The once mousey girl who had suddenly developed a backbone and won the role of Class President, who now had amazing will and confidence.

This couldn’t happen!

Alya decided to ignore the silence from the Rossi girl, even knowing this meant she was developing some sort of machination to come out on top of this situation, and started walking towards her friends with her arms held wide.

“My beautiful babies!” she exclaimed at them.

The pair laughed at her, allowing her cuddle them happily.  Nino just stood patiently near them, smiling at the picture they painted.  It was clear Marinette had been crying, but the bright gleam in her eyes and those of Adrien pretty much stated that there would be no more tears today.

“You guys okay?” he questioned them when Alya released them from her hug.

The pair smiled momentarily at each other before nodding.

“Yeah, we’re good now,” Marinette answered.

“There’s still a lot we need to talk about,” added Adrien.

“Definitely,” the girl agreed.

“But what we did talk about was eye opening.”

“And a little surprising.”

He chuckled at that.

“And I might have a bit of a freak out later about all this,” she continued.  “But everything I was thinking, everything I was imagining, turned out to be nothing at all.”

Seeing a small window of opportunity to both ingratiate herself and push Marinette away, Lila sprung forward into the Agreste teen’s personal space.

“Oh, Adrien, you just so incredibly kind and a wonderful gentleman to cheer her up after she was so depressed today,” and she latched onto his free arm.  “But it really shouldn’t be so surprising, you’re so amazingly sweet and incredible.”

Yanking his arm free of her grip suddenly, “Just stop,” he growled with a frown, moving away to place as much distance between himself and now owl-eyed Lila.  “No more lies, no more fake gushing.  It wasn’t going to work before, it won’t work now.”

She feigned total innocence.  “Lies?  Fake gushing?  What?”

“I should have told you this from day one and that was my mistake for being too nice.  I am _not_ _interested_ in you.”

She took a step towards him, her hand reaching for his shoulder to lightly pet it with a small laugh.  “You say that now.  But, when you get to know me better…”

“No,” he interrupted, keeping himself out of her reach.  “You are not allowed to touch me anymore.  This clinging and hanging off of me, I get that enough from fans showing up at my shoots.  I don’t like it from them any more than I like it from you.  And I don’t want to get to know you since all you’ll do is lie to me.”

Her scowl from earlier returned, flames seeming to ignite in her eyes.  “This is because of Ladybug, isn’t it?  She got you and told you lies about me because she knows I like you.  She’s always been jealous of me.  I was a better hero than she’ll ever be and she knows it.”

Alya scoffed.  “You were never a hero, Rossi.”

She rounded on the girl, missing the sight of Adrien pulling Marinette towards himself as he took a few protective steps back. 

“I was so!  I was Volpina and Paris loved me!”

“You were akumatized because you got called out for lying!  And the city is not so fickle as to fall in love with you after one appearance.”

“I saved the city from a flaming asteroid!”

“An illusion you created.” 

Her frown deepened, her mind racing to try to find some lie, some story to spin to win them back. 

“I don’t have to take this from you!  My parents are diplomats!  We’ve travelled all over the world and met thousands of famous people who love me!  I convinced dozens of UN members to commit to environmental actions!”

Nino arched a brow.  “Really?”  His tone was skeptical.  “So why is none of it in the news?”

“Nothing has been ratified yet.”

“It would still make the news if so many head honchoes agreed to the same thing.”

She blinked rapidly, searching for another angle.  “I was in Achu at the invitation of Prince Ali and his family!”

“And yet you were also here in time to be re-akumatized into Volpina to help Hawk Moth during Heroes’ Day,” he countered.  “We all saw the illusion of Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting, only Volpina and Rena Rouge could cause those.”

“How do you know it was Rena Rouge then?” she demanded.

“Because the Fox Miraculous wasn’t handed out to its wielder yet,” Alya countered.  “Every time Ladybug called on new heroes, once the battle is over she takes back the Miraculous to make sure they’re always stay safe.  You would have known this if you truly had one of the Miraculous gems.  So the only other person who could’ve created that illusion, and a second Hawk Moth on the Eiffel Tower, was you akumatized into Volpina.”

“Tell me, Lila,” Nino pressed.  “How does one manage to travel from Achu to Paris that fast, both ways when not even the Concord could do it?  I mean, my math and physics may be off, but that’s just not possible without a transporter system out of Star Trek.  So far as I know, that thing doesn’t exist yet.”

“And I’m sure I quick ISP address search will show where all your videos were really coming from,” added Alya. 

“I am not lying!” Lila near shrieked.  “All of this is Ladybug’s fault!  She lied!  She’s the one who told Adrien I lied to try to impress him!  I am a hero!  I am better than her!”

Alya gave the teen a very critical stare.  “Not even by a mile.  I think I might just have to put a call to Ladybug and Chat Noir later to keep an eye on you for another akuma since, by the time I’m done updating my blog tonight, everyone will know the _real_ truth.  I should get a response from Jagged Stone’s camp tonight too about that cat incident you go on and on about.”  She looked to Marinette.  “I hope you don’t mind that I dropped your name with him to get a reply.”

Marinette gave her a small smile.  “I rather you hadn’t, but I don’t mind.  I’ll just text him later and explain everything.  I’m sure he’ll understand your reasons.”

Alya turned back to the slowly fuming Lila.  “Because, yeah, Jagged Stone thinks of Marinette as practically family, a Daughter almost, and he’s on national TV saying that in front of millions.  Oh, and your IP and phone number are now blocked from posting anything on my site without my expressed permission so no more lies trying to defend the stuff I took down.  I’m an honest blog, not a trash blog.”

Lila glared at them, the air feeling noticeably colder with each passing second.  “You’ll all pay for this,” she growled before she finally huffed and stomped off.

Alya shook her head with an exasperated sigh.  “I get the feeling this won’t be the last time we have a run in like this with her.”

“You were pretty hard on her,” Marinette voiced.

“She deserved it from what Adrien explained to us.  You okay, though?  You were awfully quiet through all this.”

The girl shrugged.  “As much as I despise her lies, hating the liar won’t fix anything.”  She smiled at Adrien knowingly.  “I’m taking the moral high road.”  He merely chuckled softly, nuzzling her hair, and she leaned into him.

Alya and Nino shared a look then before grinning eagerly at their friends.

“So,” Nino began in prompting.

The hidden heroes blinked at them, waiting for the inevitable question.

“Oh, c’mon,” Alya laughed.  “You two know exactly what we’re going to ask.  We saw you walking towards us from the locker room.  The cuddling.  The kiss to her forehead.”

“So, is it true?” Nino probed.  “Has it finally happened and you two are finally, officially, a couple now?”

Adrien arched a brow, a slight quirk on his lips.  “Finally?”

Marinette was fighting her giggle.  “Officially?”

They shared a look, and then a chuckle.  “Yes,” they confirmed in unison.

“Yes!” Alya shouted, leaping into the air with a punch to the sky.

Nino wooted happily, grabbing his girlfriend around her waist and spinning her around.  Adrien and Marinette merely watched them in patient amusement.

*   *   *

The door opened magically, as it always did when Master Fu knew Ladybug was just on the other side.  He had felt the gentle eddies of the forces that surrounded her just as easily as the light breeze drifting through his open window.

But there was also a different power with her, making the old Master hold his breath in hope.

Just outside the threshold, hand still held up from having knocked, Marinette just stared at the opened door with awe and confused blinking.  The hand dropped with a slight slump of her shoulders.

“I will never get used to that,” she murmured.

The boy at her side chuckled and Fu felt the wide smile cross his lips.

“Welcome, my children,” the old man greeted, the smile translating to his voice.

The blond teen looked up in surprise.  “Mister Chan?”

Fu chuckled, remembering how this was how he had introduced himself to the boy all those months ago.  “Not quite.”

“Adrien, this is Master Fu, last Great Guardian of the Miraculous,” Marinette introduced.

“And you, my boy, are Adrien Agreste,” Fu smiled, motioning them both in to allow the door to close.  “Also known as Chat Noir.  Welcome to my humble home.”

“An honor, Sir,” Adrien returned as he and the girl knelt on the bamboo mat where Fu sat.

Tikki and Plagg appeared from their hiding places, flying off towards the old phonograph in the corner of the room to join the turtle kwami, Wayzz.  This was a conversation best started by their Chosen.  If they could add to the conversation, they would, but not before.

“I am most please to see Ladybug and Chat Noir have finally found each other,” Fu began.  “I take it you have questions though.”

The teens seemed to hesitate for only a heartbeat.

Marinette was the one to muster her nerves.  “Master, has Wayzz told you what happened recently?”

He smiled gently.  “You mean about time resetting itself?”  When she nodded, “Yes, he has explained to me that a wish was made and time was reset as per that wish.  Tell me, which of you was it who made the wish?”

The girl raised a timid hand.

“And you told your partner in this new timeline about this?”

“Um, that’s just it, Master,” Adrien began.  “Marinette didn’t tell me anything.  I actually remember everything that happened in the other timeline.”

Fu actually blinked in surprise.  “Truly?  Everything?”

“It’s why we’re here,” Marinette confirmed. 

“Plagg and Tikki say it’s impossible that I should remember any of it,” Adrien continued.  “Marinette and the kwami should have been the only ones to have known anything happened.  But I woke up on Saturday knowing everything that happened in the other timeline.”

“Then how is it you should know this?  This is your question?”

Both teens nodded.

Fu curled on himself in thought, stroking his thin beard.  That he knew of, there was no precedence for this occurrence.  All records attested to only the wish maker and the kwami being shielded from the effects of time changing.

“What was your wish, Marinette?”

She blinked rapidly, collecting her thoughts.  “I… I wished to erase one thought.”

“A thought?”

“In the other timeline, the scientist that started everything was convinced magic and science were the same.  He had researched everything he could on the subject and that’s how he discovered the Miraculous and the kwami.  I… I just erased that initial thought.”

“So he no longer believes magic and science are the same?  Very ingenious and the lesser of all possible evils.  By choosing that wish, by erasing that one thought, an idea was given to someone else.  Is it the same thought?  We may never know, but the chances it would fall to another scientist are slim at best.”

“Maybe it went to a writer,” Adrien suggested.

Fu smiled.  “Yes, that would be an excellent possibility.  And it would continue to keep the secret safe.”

“But it still leaves the initial question we have, Master,” added Marinette.

“Yes, why is it your partner remembers when this has never happened before.”

“Does is matter who made the wish?”

“Two were wielders of the Cat Miraculous and two were of the Ladybug Miraculous,” Tikki chimed in.

Adrien’s shoulders slumped.  “So, that’s a no.”  His eyes lowered to the floor at a thought, one seemingly shared by his partner from the look they gave each other.  “What… what was the condition of the partner?”

Fu felt he already knew what he meant by the hesitating nature of the question, but he asked anyway.  “What do you mean by condition?”

Marinette carefully reached over to take Adrien’s hand, more in reassurance for herself.  “In the other timeline… Adrien died.”

They heard Plagg sigh heavily.  “It was the same with all the others too.”

The old Master gave his short beard a tug from a thought, watching the girl cradle the boy’s hand in her own, seemingly afraid to let it go.

“It may help to review the past Chosen who made the wish,” he began slowly before standing to retrieve a set of ancient looking manuscripts.  “Every aspect of the Chosen is recorded to help the Guardians look for specific traits in the next Chosen.  It ensures we always select a compatible pair for the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous.  Wayzz, your assistance please?”

The Turtle kwami understood and phased into the manuscript, opening it to a specific page.

“Ah, yes, the first pair to roll back time was many centuries ago.  They knew each other, accepted each other as a partner, but were from warring tribes.”  The pages flipped again to a new section.  “Here they differed in social status.”  Another section revealed itself.  “Oh, my!  These two despised each other in every aspect.  How did they manage to be the Chat Noir and Ladybug with that much animosity between them?”

“It was not easy, Master,” Wayzz supplied.  “But for the sake of the world they had agreed that, during battles at least, they would put their differences aside.”

“I do not envy my predecessor’s time with them.”  The pages flipped one last time.  “Oh, these two never actually met.  They would join the battles from opposite ends, maybe glimpse each other in the distance, but they never spoke.  Oh, now that is just terrible and sad, a tragedy.  The Cat and Ladybug and two parts of the same whole, partners in every sense of the word.  Being bitter or distant to the other is contrary to how they are supposed to be.”

He looked up to the teens before him, both waiting on him to continue.

“Creation and destruction go hand and hand through all of time.  The wielders of these gems are chosen for, not only their ability to control and contain these forces, but their compatibility with their partner.  It is why so many stay together for life, as long or as short as it may be.  Gifting them to these four pairs was clearly a mistake.”

“But…”

All looked to Marinette, causing her to hesitate.  She sniffed silently, mustering her voice.

“But I think we figured out why their partners never remembered when they wished for time to reset.”

Fu cocked his head, curious.  “Oh?”

Adrien’s blinking became rapid, his thoughts seemingly on the same train as the girl’s very suddenly.  “They were never, at the very least, friends,” he breathed.  He mentally shook himself when he realized Master Fu was watching him expectantly.  “Opposing tribes, different social standings, they hated each other, or they never met.  There was no connection between them.  No… no link.”

Fu began to smile knowingly.  “Ah, so you two share a connection?”

The teens became flustered, a crimson blush spreading over their faces as the old man began to chuckle.

“You should see them, Fu,” Plagg drawled as he flew into view.  “It’s disgusting.  He goes on and on about Ladybug this and Ladybug that with goo-goo eyes, in the last day it’s been Marinette, Marinette, Marinette.  And Tikki tells me she goes all gooey and love-dumb when she starts talking about Adrien.”

“Plagg!” the teens and Tikki shouted simultaneously, Adrien lunging at the black cat.

The God of Destruction merely cackled in glee, staying just out of reach, causing his Chosen to sprawl flat on the floor in his attempt to catch him.  The boy groaned from his prone position, face buried in his arms.

“Does the Miraculous still work if I strangle my kwami?” he muttered to the floor.

Fu chuckled.  “I am afraid not.”

“Dammit…”

Marinette tentatively moved closer to her partner, gently scratching long lines up and down his back.  “It… It’s not like we didn’t already know,” she admitted.

“No.”  He raised his head to look back at her over his shoulder.  “But somehow hearing it from him doesn’t make it any less embarrassing.”

With a smile Fu got to his feet to put away the manuscripts.  “I think I will make us some tea,” and he turned towards the kitchen.  “There is much we still need to discuss, and I must record this event for the use of future Guardians.  We will start from the precipitating event as you know it.”

“And we’ll talk more on our patrol tomorrow night,” Marinette offered to Adrien, patting his back.

He merely smiled in thanks.

*   *   *

The evening was warm and quiet over Paris.  The Sun was just setting, casting hues of warm red and orange through the encroaching night sky.

Ladybug loved this time of evening.

Too early for any nighttime activities to have started yet.

Too late for daytime businesses to still be open.

It left the streets nearly devoid of people, only a few last stragglers heading home, or others who enjoyed this time of evening as much as she did and were now out for a walk.

She sighed a happy smile and reclined back against the roof, Sun-warmed tin tiles seeping delicious heat through her suit, legs dangling lazily off the edge of the roof.

“Room for one more there?” a quiet voice questioned from above her, the tone smiling.

Her smile widened and she blindly reached a hand up towards the voice.  “There’s always room for my Kitty,” she cooed.

A clawed hand took hers, Chat Noir sliding down the roof at her side.  He rested his cheek to her belly, purring contentedly while her hands tenderly smoothed through his hair.  One cat ear twitched when her fingers drifted close, tickled by her touch.  He rubbed his cheek against her textured suit, settling against her more comfortably.

“Think it’ll stay this quiet tonight?”

Ladybug looked to the sky in thought, at the brighter stars twinkling through the waning daylight and brightening city lights. 

“One can only hope,” she finally admitted.  “But with the dressing-down Lila got from Alya and Nino, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s actively working herself up so Hawk Moth can akumatize her.”

Chat Noir huffed lightly, eyes staring off at nothing.  “You have to have something seriously wrong with you to _want_ to be akumatized.”

“I read somewhere online that sociopaths will often go to great lengths to either make themselves out to be the victim or the hero in order to get the attention they crave.  They have no concept of the pain they cause others to do it.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”  He suddenly growled low, arms wrapping tight around her hips.  “I don’t want to talk, let alone think, about her.  She’s caused us enough trouble…”

Ladybug smiled down at his indignant pout, carefully threading a hand through his bangs.  “What would you rather we talk about, Kitty?”

His smile returned.  “You… me… our future.”

She chuckled softly.  “Heady stuff there.”

“Then how about the freak out you haven’t had yet?” he verbally poked.

She hummed softly in thought.  “Honestly, with everything, I think I’m beyond the freak out.  The major one in any case.  I still have little freak outs when I start realizing Adrien and Chat Noir are one and the same.  I mean, we’ve told each other’s alter egos some pretty personal stuff about each other, even if we never did use names.”

“I always tried so hard to be suave Adrien around Ladybug you, to be cooler than cool, but it always came out with me looking like a love-struck fan.”

She chuckled.  “The only love-struck fan I ever noticed.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to be a lot smoother, you know, Chat Noir smooth.  To be the special one in the crowd when I thought Ladybug you didn’t see me as anything more than another citizen to protect.  But then you’d turn those beautiful blue eyes on me and I’d turn into a clumsy tongue-tied mess.”

“Now you know how Marinette me felt around Adrien you.”

He looked up in surprise.  “Really?”

“Really.  There was so many times that I just wanted to talk to you, hang out, but for some reason I always managed to talk myself out of it for some ridiculous reason.  That or I’d trip over my own tongue and stutter like an idiot.”

“I always thought you were cute when you stuttered.  Me, I was terrified I would say something wrong or inappropriate or something like that and end up chasing you away.  I wanted to impress you as Adrien, just like I tried to do as Chat…”  He suddenly chuckled.  “God, we were hopeless.”

“And very oblivious.”

“I still owe you a date.”

She blinked.  “You do?”

“In the other timeline.”  He sat up to lean over her.  “I asked you, after we got our kwami back from Ulcel, if I could take you out on a date.  Anything you wanted.”

“Oh… you did.”  She giggled softly.  “And I agreed.”

“You did.  And, seeing as things kind of went sideways for this past weekend, we should have our date this weekend instead.”

She crossed her arms, playfully frowning at him.  “This is so you have enough time to put some convoluted date plan together, right?”

He blushed behind his mask, his smile sheepish.  “Um… maybe?”

Ladybug laughed.  “You’re incorrigible!”

He rested his forearms on either side of her head, lightly bumping his nose to hers.  “What can I say, I’m a smitten kitten.”

Smirking tenderly, she slipped her arms around him neck.  “I am limiting your budget to that plan.”

He arched a brow.  “Limiting how?”

“No jewelry…”

“But…”

“No hiring a band, orchestra or singer for a private concert…”

“My Lady…!”

“No renting out an entire venue or eatery of any kind…”

“No…”

“And no flying off to another country or exotic location for any of the previously listed.”

He pouted at her.  “You’re no fun.”

“I am lots of fun, and a cheap date.  Besides, I didn’t fall in love with your money or fame.  I love, and am in love with, you.”

A dreamy, goofy smile spread over his features.  “Say that again.”

She returned his smile, tugging him just a little closer.  “I love, and am in love with, you,” she breathed.

A low purr rumbled loud in his chest, his lips crashing to hers hungrily.  Her fingers raked against his scalp, melting into the embrace just as needy as he was.  Had anyone told her a year ago that she would finally be with the love of her life, she would have laughed in their face.  But now, she just couldn’t imagine her life without him.

And she probably would never have to worry about lacking that ever again.

Somewhere off in the distance, an explosion rattled Paris, a glowing cloud rising into the air.

Chat Noir’s purr changed to a growl and Ladybug laughed against his lips.

“Never enough time,” he grumbled.

“We can go back to my place for cookies and movies after this.  We’ll have earned it.”

“Not sure we’ll actually watch any movies though,” he smirked.

She giggled.  “Cookies and cuddles then.”

“Deal.”  Then, as he began to reluctantly pull away from her to stand, “Five macarons says it’s Lila.”

“And what do I get if it’s not her?”

“Anything you want,” he was quick to reply with a Cheshire grin.

She smirked coyly.  “Careful, Kitty, that could end up being a dangerous deal.”

“I most sincerely hope so,” and he pulled her to her feet.

“Needy Kitten,” she accused gently.  “Looks like whoever that akuma is, it’s blowing things up around the _sixième arrondissement_.”

“Too much to ask that it’s all taking place in the _Jardin du Luxembourg_?  It should be pretty empty at this time of evening.”

“One can hope.”

He stretched his neck and shoulders before pulling out his baton.  “Well, lets get this done.”  He took one of her hands tenderly.  “In the other timeline, we promised Nooroo we would take him to Master Fu and he would never have to go back to Hawk Moth ever again.  Lets go try to keep that promise,” and he placed a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

She smiled at him in response before pulling his hand towards herself, pressing a tender kiss to his knuckles.  She was rewarded by seeing his cheeks colour a deep red.

With a flick of her wrist, Ladybug’s yo-yo shot out with a whir to find purchase on a building some distance away.  A slight tug launched her through the air towards the explosions.  She could almost feel Chat Noir close behind her, vaulting from building to building, the sensation almost as tangible as the wind whipping through her hair.

Knowing he was with her again made her feel strong and brave.

Knowing he was more than just her partner made her feel invincible.

Love made you feel incredible things when it took hold of your heart and soul.

Hawk Moth had better beware.

A second chance at a future had been granted to the young heroes.

They wouldn’t waste a single moment of it.


End file.
